Short hops and hard knocks with Red Sox beat writer Ian Browne.

Beckett and Coco

Back in the winter, who were the two new additions that excited you the most?

I’d say that if you polled the average fan, it would be Josh Beckett and Coco Crisp. At this hour, those are two of the team’s biggest disappointments, which in a large way probably explains why they are now on the outside looking in in both playoff races.

Coco is hitting .275 with five homers, 23 RBIs and a .325 OBP. Those numbers acorss the board are far less than you’d expect, even with the injury.

Beckett has a 5.02 ERA and continues to be a huge enigma.

Can these two players straighten themselves out in time for crunch time? I want thoughts, solutions and opinions on both these guys, because I’m having a hard time figuring out why both guys can’t at least perform up to past levels.

Ian.

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Plain and simple Ian. Beckett was an over rated pitcher who had decent numbers in a great pitchers park in the NL. He is now in the AL and in a hitters park.
Crisp was hyped more for who he was replacing than for what he is capable of. He had one good year last year as a part of a great hitting team. Nothing more. Even Javy Lopez had one great year.

Ian, I’m not sure what’s going on with those two. Coco seems to pop up more of his hits than he does get them on the ground or out of the park. It’s like he’s not focusing on what he can do to hit the ball effectively.

Josh, on the other hand, just seems to have lost focus altogether. If he gets behind right at the beginning, then he loses complete focus from there on out. He has had great starts and wins, and he’s apparently forgotten how he got those wins in the first place. I think, if he can reconnect himself with the kind of thinking he was doing at the beginning of the season, he’ll come out a lot more successful.

About Javy Lopez. Don’t get me wrong, he was one of my favorite Orioles (after Brian Roberts, of course), but I just don’t know what’s up with him. I think focus has a lot to do with everyone’s way of performance. The mess of injuries that have happened so quickly, all around the same time, at a moment when they really don’t need that drama, seems to have put these guys in a crazy way of thinking. They need to shift their focus back to how to win games, not on how many of their “game-winners” are on the DL right now. They’ve got the composition of a great team – their fans have that faith in them. They just need to have that faith in themselves.

When you’ve been with a certain player or players for one, two, or ten years, and you’ve been cheering them on and crying when they cry, hurting when they hurt, and get frustrated when they’re frustrated with themselves, it’s hard to see them go. Like Johnny Damon. I loved him – I still do. Or Derek Lowe – I still watch the Dodgers standings. Or Bill Mueller, or Kevin Millar. It’s hard to get someone out of your heart when they’ve been there almost daily for basically the whole year.

I said I still loved him, Vik. I didn’t say that I was happy where he was at. So, no, I won’t be happy for him if he goes on a tear this weekend. :-P You can still love a player and hope they play crappy ball.

Ian, what I don’t understand is why the RS already signed Beckett to a contract extension when he didn’t even finish the FIRST year of his contract? What’s up w/Theo and some of the questionable decisions of late? (Such as the signing of Julian Tavarez this season?) I’m really starting to question his genius that I’ve revered since ’04. As for Coco and Josh… Coco: HUGE shoes to fill and I agree with your assessments. But I also think he needs to chill out with his emotions, since he goes crazy swearing in the dugout when he falters instead of trying to pick himself up and lean on his teammates. I mean, that can’t be good for his confidence. Josh: When the Marlins beat the Yankees in the WS (forgot what year) I wanted him & Miguel Cabrera on the RS. Now we got Beckett and ****, if I’m not disappointed. Don’t know how to fix the problems, just hoping it’s a rough stretch. These games vs. the Tigers and Yankees will show what this team is made of.

How is that confusing sweetie? It’s like, Kevin Millar. He was my favorite player on the Red Sox – absolute number 1 (I don’t count Jason Varitek on my “favorite list” because I’m absolutely in LOVE with him). But, when he plays the Red Sox, I hope he plays the crappiest ball of his career. But I don’t like him any less. We’re in a run for the same ultimate prize – a WS ring. I don’t hope that a former player does well just because he USED to play for the Red Sox. But I still like that player because of who he is and how he plays. Am I making any sense? Because it makes complete sense in my head. :)

Looks like Lester vs. Wang on Friday afternoon. They might not even need to turn on the lights for the night game. Johnson vs. Ponson. That in itself should be enough fireworks to light up Fenway for 3 hours.

In response to Ian’s post, I think we’ve covered Beckett and beat the horse pretty much past dead. Same with Coco. Huge disapointments. Coco hasn’t got a hit that mattered all year and in no way deserves the lead off spot. Why did he bring this topic up? I was just trying to get in a good mood getting ready for the game.

Schill needs to be the man again. Beckett proved that he isn’t mature or good enough to be considered a stopper or a big game pitcher. Bonderman is tough, the Sox have to break through early and get in their pen. Zumaya was used for 32 pitches last night so they have to take advantage.

We haven’t had a solid shut down performance from a starter since KC was in town a few weeks ago and that doesn’t count because it was KC.(who has since ***** slapped us).

Probably. Things like this makes sense only to some people. You know what I mean. Depends on how a person thinks.
I cannot like a person and wish he doesn’t play well at the same time. Thats just me. fg. I love Pettite. I wish he does well even when he pitches against yankees but the yankees still win. I dont like Clemens. So I wish he su cks against anybody. Not just yankees.

as for the former players, i still root for OC, nomar, d-lowe, and bronson. those guys supposedly didnt want to leave. theo thought renteria over 4 years was better than cabrera, since hanley ramirez was about ready. he didnt think lowe was worth 9 mil but he thought clement was. the nomar and arroyo deals were good though. its the guys like johnny damon who drive me insane. obivously money talks now but (just my opinion) if i already had as much money as JD has, i dont see how an extra 12 mil would make a difference if i was already gonna make 40 mil.

I’m tellin’ ya stars, I think he would’ve stayed for 40 mil, but his wife said otherwise. Hey, don’t judge. I’m just saying. I don’t know – I love Derek Lowe and I really wish he was still a part of our team. But, you win some, you lose some.

I agree, Kevin. The Beckett debate has been exhausted, and not much else can be said until the season ends. To summarize my view on it, I think Beckett has an ace’s stuff and attitude, but right now he is a No. 2 pitcher whose inconsistency has made him look more like a No. 3 or No. 4 this season. I think he will be fine for the long term in Boston.

Regarding Crisp, I wouldn’t call him a disappointment. It is difficult to return from a serious thumb injury and produce the numbers he posted last season. He is hitting much better in recent weeks than he has in awhile, and his defense is superb. I like him hitting seventh, and Youk leading off. I think Youk is more patient, and right now he is hitting the ball better. But saying Crisp is a disappointment is pretty harsh, considering his injury.

Completely off topic… IS there any chance that Kyle Snyder will make the next start instead of Jason Johnson. Johnson’s record is 3-11 so far this year and he never won a game in the RedSox uniform(Sox lost all the games Johnson started anyway).

The answer to your question Kumar is NO. That would make too much sense. Francona is holding on to the hope that Johnson will get it together some time in the next 2 months. Johnson has been lit up by NY already this year when he was with Cleveland. So it would be too smart to start Snyder, therefore Francona won’t do it.

lol….u guys are interested in shoenweis and latroy hawkins apparently…..ull prob need snyder for if lester or johnson blow up in the double header/wells can’t put it together or beckett implodes, there are so many question marks, do u really want jason johnson coming out of the pen to fix the potential meltdowns?

Can Beckett and Crisp straighten out for the stretch run? Sure they can. They’ve demonstrated they have the talent. Will they? I have no idea. Solutions? I’m neither a pitching coach nor a hitting coach, so I will not presume to tell Dave Wallace or Ron Jackson how to approach the situation.

I know it’s a bit of a cliche (OK, it’s a huge cliche), but I think Crisp may be pushing too hard. As an amateur athlete, I found that there was a limit to how hard I could push, and trying to go beyond that resulted in a decrease in performance. Tough to walk that line, infinitely tougher with a stadium full of people watching and wanting you to do well. If you listen to good hitters tell you about the best hitting coaches they’ve had and how they helped them get through slumps, they often say things like “He just told me to relax and take my normal swing” or “He told me to just keep swinging until I got my swing back.”

Hopefully Wallace and Nipper (sounds like a couple of cartoon characters, doesn’t it?) can come up with some pearls of wisdom for Coco.

As far as Beckett goes, a lot of his problem seems to be with location, not speed. I don’t know how you correct that, but you couldn’t ask for a much better mentor than Schilling. Maybe he can get him fixed.

schilling has a lot of his own recent problems to concentrate on such as not having an era near 6 in his last 5 starts, and once he does straighten it out (which i am not biased enough to believe he won’t) he will be too much in his own zone to give beckett any serious peace of mind

Coco is pressing, no doubt about it. All that hype coming into fenway, taking JD’s spot. He was electric those 10 games at the begining of the season. The long recovery to get all anxious. The best thing for coco would be to leave him alone. Let him play. He has been hitting the ball hard. Last night he led off the game with a bullet to short.

in Beckett’s case, similar expectations(yankee killer) He is a talented pitcher, we have seen glimpses. He has been pressing all year and then throw in Javy Lopez. Beckett was shaking him off all night. Messes with rythm. Hitting spots is all about being in a rythm, the zone, being comfortable.

both could certianly get hot down the stretch. They just need to hit the ball and throw the ball.

beckett has had 2 starts vs yankees this season, one i believe he gave up 3 runs in 7 innings (maybe it was 1 run?) in april and got the win, the other was the worst outing of his career (8 er in less than 2 innings)….wouldn’t exactly call him a yankee killer unless u want to bring up the 03 postseason which was a completely different team and then would force u to admit he is overrated

oh and ellen i meant to answer u before, yeah it is pretty crazy how ever since we came over u guys like triples ur comments. It couldn’t possibly just be us, i don’t really know how to explain what happened, maybe the added stress and emotion caused a lot of comments?

Ian, I agree with you. Perhaps our expectations of new players are also higher than usual because we want to believe so badly that we will win the AL East. However, Coco and Beckett have been having below average years. But what about past years? Clement? Wells? These guys have performed, but it seems that Theo is much better at putting together offense and field players than pitchers. I hope he proves me wrong in future years with the young pitching talent in the minors. As for this year, I am still wondering why this offense does not produce more runs more often than it currently does. How you seen our line-up? Still a long way to go. Keep the faith, always.

Beckett needs to learn something other than a flat fast ball to become effective. A nice changeup w/control would be nice and he needs to get the ball down. As for Coco, I think he will work out his problems at the plate but maybe not in time to help us get to the playoffs. Timely hitting is the number one problem right now….Praying to God everynite for some help…

I want to believe that we will win each year, but, it is only a matter of time until the Yankees become bottom feeders. Cashman and his boss have exhausted their minors, and once they leave (new ownership), it might be decades before the Yankees see the light of day. I think Theo is making the right moves for the future. Not only will the Nation get the last laugh, it will last a very very long time.

Beckett has had more than just ONE good year… he’s been riddled with injuries, and that has been his only downside in Florida. Having said that, he DID pitch in Dolphin stadium, which is a pitcher’s park. Maybe some harmless fly balls turned into 3-run home runs, which has caused his ERA to spike.

Also, I just want to reiterate that numbers tend to work themselves out. Although in rare cases some numbers never stablize, I believe that Beckett’s ERA is destined to come down this season. I remain optimistic, and I don’t really want a debate on it… I just am not ready to give up on Beckett yet – NOT because of a world series performance 3 years ago, but because I’ve seen him on his good days.

A plausible explaination is that the Sox’s fear of Beckett’s injury problems caused a change in his training routine (a source said that he had a bandage around his finger when practicing, therefore denying him access to his curveball among other pitches), messing up his pitching. He has had to rely on his fastball more than before. Watch a video of the 03 postseason. Beckett threw a **** lot more off-speed pitches!! Ian, any inside info that you can share about Beckett? Has the fear of injury changed his pitching?

Here is the solution for Beckett. And Ian, I’m begging you and/or anyone who has Dave Wallace’s ear to send it along.

Move to the 3rd base side of the rubber. I am not a pitching coach, I barely played the game. But I have been watching baseball for a long time and I have never seen a right handed power pitcher throw from the 1st base side on every pitch. Maybe once in a while to set something up, but Beckett does it on every pitch which basically means he’s giving up the advantage that he would have to righties. they see the ball sooner, they see it with both eyes instead of with one over the shoulder.

If he just moved to the 3rd base side of the rubber, I know his performance would improve. He had success in the NL pitching from the 1st base side, but let’s face it, it’s easier over there.

i don’t know if lester and johnson pitching the same day was so wise. say hypothetically neither one pitches deep into the game (i don’t know a gut feeling of mine that lester and johnson may not last too long) that is like realistically 8 bullpen innings between two games of the double header with beckett to follow the next day….do any of you feel like you might be screwing up ur bullpen for the whole series?

No Ellen, honey, I have to disagree with you. Like I said last night (or maybe it was earlier today – my days seem to run together), most of these pitchers throw it right down the middle because we lay off those first pitches. I think they need to swing at them more often.

hahah rare occasion, i have no classes before 11am by design so i won’t be getting up early anytime soon but yeah i had to drop my mom off at work and had all sorts of doctors appointments/errands to run

Y’all were talking about college football etc yesterday, I’m a Hurricane fan, (almost as obsessed as I am about the Sox), don’t know what kind of season we’re going to have. Already having problems off the field and on the police blotter. Jen. I forget, who’d you say that you follow??

All good college teams!!! I really enjoy college ball so much more than the pro’s although I do watch some.. Kind of hard not to especially when I work in the bar on Sundays.. But even though I’m born and raised in so Fl., I absolutely DO NOT AND HAVE NOT EVER liked or cheered for the dullphins.
We really need a quick inning from Curt now, and then give him some real run support. 1 run is not going to hold up, vince, what’s the yankee game looking like??

Yes they are in the Big East now and have all of their tough games (West Vitginia, Miami) at home this year. Yet I have not heard any thing about them on any college football discussions. Thats why I say sleeper, i think they have an opportunity,(not to far of a stretch) to run the table this year if the QB is as healthy as he says he is.

Hi guys. Sorry I wasn’t around. The wife and I were watching the first half of Lawrence of Arabia. (Yeah, yeah, I know, but it’s a classic we’ve never seen and I can’t watch baseball EVERY night if I want to stay married.)

I’m really glad I wasn’t here for the 7th. It’s frustrating enough to read that Schilling gave up three straight hits and then got three straight strikeouts. I got here just in time to listen to Papi’s game-tying hit.

Vince, I think the “Yankee killer” tag was in reference to Beckett’s post season performance BEFORE 2006.

I would be really pissed off if I was a Pirates fan. They had 2 decent players besides Jason Bay and they just dumped them at the deadline. Sean Casey and Craig Wilson.
Then again if I was a Pirates fan I’d have a lot more things to be upset about besides that.

Let’s see…..Timlin has had dead arm spurts throughout the season, been on the DL once, been slumping lately, the Sox just tied up the game, SURE, let’s put him back out there. Another brilliant move by Francona.

lol now now vik, u need to let a good 15 minutes pass or the yankees to win before you can start harrassing these people…though i will admit i did warn not to underestimate a pissed off team with the best record in baseball and solid pitching compared to the orioles

gsr, next season you have to get mlb.com…. 80 dollars for 162 games…. (less than .50 per!!) although I had a few (very few) problems with it, my husband says it’s the best investment he’s made, (I watch the game, he get’s to watch whatever he wants!!)
I’m truly disappointed that Wily Mo missed that catch on the right field line, he clearly took his eyes off the ball!!

Ashley, who are your non conference games this year for Louisville. Man they can really play you tough!! They always give Miami fits!!

Thanks Ellen, I have the MLB package at home, but my wife got home late, so I let her watch Big Brother on our DVR, so I came in here after Manny once again didn’t get a hit in a late inning situation.

I’m beginning to lose hope, guys… seriously, I know that we’ve still got 45 games to play or something like that, but I don’t really see how the Sox can really put it all together. I need some cheering up lol.

Jamie, if you lose hope now, that’s a disappointment.
Well the Yanks won, so we just have to step it up. I know it’s a long row to hoe, but we can do it, we did it 2004, down like 10 1st week in August. It’ll be tough but it can be done….. Go Sox. Sorry Vince, I just can’t EVER give up. I guess I’m a glutton for punishment.

haha no no jamie i didn’t mean u that time, i’m not that harsh on people i have debated on multiple occasions. This was some random guy i had never seen before and he obviously didn’t pay attention to the war last night

i still have some hope… I always will about the Sox. Ellen, that means I’m also a glutton for punishment lol…

For some reason, the business aspect of baseball intrigues me alot. Therefore, I love analyzing trades and signings during the offseason. This season has been really punishing, since I fully expected the Yanks to implode and the Sox to soar above all the rest… i was fully expecting Beckett to have a sub-4 ERA and for the Sox to have a HEALTHY team…

lol I would love to work for the Sox… I would absolutely enjoy debating baseball with great minds and researching baseball stats, and analyzing them… I do it now anyways, and I’ve read pretty much all the baseball books I could get my hands on that has any decent reputation.

For now, I’m focused on the heartstopping-ly hard courses I’m taking next year… 2 AP’s and 3 Honors… Junior year… I want to go to some small school for undergraduate education. More communication with actual professors instead of graduate students… there was a great article in the new Time magazine… choosing a college will be pretty exciting lol

haha unfortunately they aren’t the only ones. If you go to a top of the line anything for school and u don’t have scholarships out the ***, chances are you will have a ton of loans to pay, assuming ur parents aren’t to money what billy joel is to alcohol

u looking to stay local? or do u have a region? haha i remember i used cointree or osmething, some internet program recommended by the school and it was pretty useful, it narrowed me down to 13 schools then with deeper research i got it down to 5 and then eventually ended up applying to 3

no no no corniess that is actually EXACTLY how i looked at it. Too many of my friends didn’t want high school to end or didn’t want to be away from their families or their friends not realizing that everybody moves on (not ur family but ull still see them pretty much the same amount and if they raised u right u shouldnt WANT to see them every weekend anyway). I had the outlook that i had to leave my state (at the time nj) and go somewhere else but i wanted to be within 6 hours, but i totally respect people that just go somewhere totally new, college is not overrated, it is exactly what people expect for the most part, it really is 4 years (give or take a couple) that you will never be able to recreate or have the opportunity to have back again. The people around u are totally essential to ur happiness. You have to go somewhere where u think u can fit in and learn a new life at the same time, it is the first time u all truly start over again….and of course, somewhere where it can help u for the future.

i pretty much looked for weather, size, region, major, and the breakdown of people’s backgrounds (not necessarily race, but more their home states)….for instance university of illinois i originally had a lot of interest in, until i found out that about 81% of the school is from in state, that is not something i was looking for. If you go to grambling it is 98% black, not saying there is anything wrong with that, but you may be a little uncomfortable. I came from a very very diverse hs so race was not a big deal to me whether it was a school of a melting pot, or not diverse, since i already experienced other races and know how to treat people fairly and not fear them

oh something really overlooked is the status of the school too. My dad went to stonybrook in NY during the 1960’s, it was a school in the midst of changing and gaining a new identity, most of the time he was there there was constant construction and political wars (that was pretty much everywhere but still), so u want to make sure the school is not in a transition period, i lucked out, it looks like my school’s transition period was about 5 years ago, now it is just steadily improving

Sounds pretty cool, Vince. I’m pretty glad that I’m looking forward to college… as much as I’m enjoying high school now, college just seems so great in every way… living on campus, eating raman noodles to save money… I just hope i survive the next 2 years of high school… PSAT, SAT, ACT, SATII, AP… those initials are starting to look pretty scary lol…

Guys: Having seen all three worlds (school, college and corporate or “real”) this is what I have to say.

School: Your wisdom is limited. A lot of people have a say in what you do. In other words no responsibility and no freedom. You can enjoy it but you dont, Because you dont realize that it is the most worry free phase of life.

College: You are wiser. You still do not have a lot of responsibility other than taking care of yourself. You have friends to lean on. It is not cut throat. And you always get a second chance to fix your screwups. Above all you realize its not going to be fun after college. A combination of that and the freedom from being out of state (nobody watching you) makes you have a blast. The only possible constraint is money.

Corporate world: You have money (well most cases). You can do a lot of stuff you want to. You are not answerable to anybody. But you can do any of the above only weekends. So 5/7ths of your life is really REALLY boring. So both of you. Just enjoy as much as you can when you can.

jaime (if your still up) if you want to go to college out west i would suggest somewhere in california or UNR (uni of nevada-reno its right by lake tahoe). i would prefer somewhere in the midwest, considering i have lived in vegas for all but 3 months of my life and i have a lot of family in michigan and ohio.

Ellen, the non-conference schedule looks like Kentucky at home, at Temple, Miami(FL) at home, and Kansas State on the road. The other game to watch out for is West Virginia, but that game is also at home, where Louisville averages some 45 points a game over the last 3-4 years. Last year i think the points at home averaged around 50 or so. In college sports it seems like home court/field means so much more.

Its late and i’m delaying doing work, so I looked it up last years at home average 56 points per. 51 the year before, and only one home loss in the last three years, thats why im confident this year, because all of the tough games are at home ( west virginia, miami, Kentucky(only because its a rivalry game where anything can happen), and USF which beat louisville last year)

As for the sox game tonight. Im not sure how else to describe it but disappointing. I almost played college baseball so im comfortable saying i could have made the catch Wily Mo dropped. Schill pitches just fine besides a mental lapse for 10 minutes. A tough one to swallow for me. Im looking for a rebound to at least salvage one out of this series. Go Sox!!

Why would you put in a runner for Ortiz? It was the 8th inning and Manny was up with 2 outs. That situation alone should tell you Manny is going to make an out, so why waste taking Ortiz out. If we had a bullpen that could do it’s job, Ortiz might have come back up in the 10th or 11th with a chance to win it.
Manny is now hitting under .200 from the 7th inning on with the Sox either tied or trailing. I don’t think Papi is going to get another chance to win a game this year with those numbers waiting behind him. Yes he got a hit off Bruce Chen on Sunday in the 10th, but who hasn’t gotten a hit of Bruce Chen? Really, really frustrating right now. Playing under .500 since the allstar break. You try to stay positive but these guys just give you another reason to get upset. You can’t expect a guy to throw a shutout everytime out, but in a big game, you can’t melt down like that vs. a good hitting in the 7th inning. Johan Santana had a 1-0 lead all game and held the Indians, a much better hitting team, to 0 runs. It sounds selfish to be upset because a guy didn’t give up a run, but the team needed a lift and Schill once again had a late game meltdown, just like Kansas City. For us to think David Wells can pitch another game like he did against Baltimore is one thing, but for us to think we can hit Verlander is another. These guys have shown the can’t hit good pitching. Plain and simple. This is another game where Wells needs to hold them down because the way this lineup hits a good pitcher, we will be lucky to score 3 runs.

Folks, I think we’re getting off topic here. Not that I’m the Blog policeman, but the original thought was what’s wrong with Coco and/or Beckett.

A while back, I posted that Beckett’s pitching from the 1st base line is a little weird. Any responses? Has any one else seen this? I really think this is the major source of his problems. If he just moved to the 3rd base side of the rubber, he’d be much tougher on righties at least.

That topic was brought up yesterday. We have beat both those topics dead in the ground before the thought was posted. Why wouldn’t we talk about the most recent happenings rather than the fact that Beckett is a glorified number 3 starter?

I don’t know enough about pitching mechanics and how the position change you suggest would affect a hitter’s ability to see/hit a pitch, so I can’t really comment on your idea.

I do think that albert should stop taking downers, though. Try coke or speed, it does wonders for your outlook.

Timlin had a couple days’ rest, and he had gotten three straight outs on 10 pitches in the 8th and was looking strong, so I don’t think it was unreasonable to put him in for another innning.

Pena’s dropped ball was in shallow right, but if he caught it he probably would have hit the wall, making it difficult to make the throw to home, so it’s quite possible that the Tigers would have scored that run anyway. I think the official scorer agrees with this, since it was scored a sac fly.

It’s probably going to take something pretty weird to get back into the playoffs. I haven’t lost hope yet, but there is very little to be positive about at this time.

I was watching the game on Tivo last night and I was able to pause that last strike call to Pena before the catcher pulled it back in. It was about 6 inches outside. MLB should adopt the NHL mantra of not having the officials control so much of the game at the very end. It’s hard to believe that MLB will continue to let umps make this call. How can the RS counsel Pena to be more selective when a pitch 6 inches outside is called a strike? The strikeout call to Crisp a little earlier was the same, about 4-6 inches outside. Why aren’t the RS pitchers taking advantage of this. How many K’s did Schilling have all night?

ginod, no offense, but since when do we EVER stay on the original topic?? :-P

With that being said, I’m just not sure where Josh stands has anything to do with his pitching capabilities. But then, I agree with Rob. I’m not on the up and up about pitching mechanics and how much the position change would affect his success rate. I stick with the fact that he needs to re-evaluate how he got wins at the beginning of the season and step back into that focus.

First of all, me & my friends had this discusion in the off-season, I always said that willis was the guy to get. 15 wins, a WS MVP, that’s no reason to sign a guy for the next three years. only god or time will tell for beckett. but as far as i’m concerned, he stinks! as for coco, he’s just been a flat out disapointment, but i do think he can get better. My biggest concern is ortiz & manny. I’m willing to bet that if ortiz knew that epstein was gonna sit around & wait four years for his prospects to become professionals & maybe win another WS w/out spending to strenghten his team, I highly doubt that he would have signed to 2010. ortiz is going through his best years now. by the time theo’s kids grow up to be men, ortiz might be on his last leg. he can’t hit 40hr every year. manny already wants to leave because they are falling out of contension, & they will trade him if the deal is right. pitching & defense? whatever.

morning Jen. Beckett has stuff and thats it. Let me name other guys that have great stuff too. Javier Vazquez, Joakim Benoit, Cliff Lee etc. The problem is when they are VERY VERY inconsistent. Making 2 of the greatest pitches ever doesn’t help if the 3rd pitch is hit over the wall. That is whats wrong with these guys. They make quite a few mistakes over the course of the game. If it was NL, they could have gotten away. Not in AL.

I agree that Beckett has stuff, definitely. And that he’s definitely inconsistent. But he can redirect his focus to be more consistent. He just needs to think about each of his pitches on an individual basis and not as a whole. He needs to think about throwing strikes one at a time and not about getting the guy out all at one time.

If redirecting focus was that easy, every one I mentioned above would be an ace Jen. Beckett is a 2nd or 3rd starter at best. I have said this when all the sox fans were going carzy over Beckett and I am saying it now. If you count on him to be your ace for the next 3 or 4 years, you are in big trouble.

yeah, but Vik, honey, you can think about what it is you’re going to throw, and what the outcome of that throw might be. It’s really not that hard to do. I mean, I’m not a major league pitcher who has 50 thousand+ people looking at me for 5-7 innings, so I can’t tell you what’s going through his head, but I can tell you that it’s easy enough to reel yourself back into the “zone.” I don’t know – I just know something needs to be fixed and they’d better be spending a ton of time figuring out what that something is.

On another note, I had to swallow calling our construction guy an “f’in a $ $hole” a few minutes ago. He’s a Yankees fan, and as everyone can guess, I don’t have a problem with Yankees fans. Obviously. However, when someone comes in and is so freakin’ arrogant and is like, “3 games…3 games back. You all are toast,” I had a huge lump in my throat that I had to swallow before I said something really mean. I just very nicely told him that it was time for him to leave and now was really not the time to be talking to me about that. He was like, “I was just kidding,” but by then, it was already said. I told him, “there are still 45 games to play, so don’t talk that **** to me just yet.” Just thought I’d share my Wednesday morning story with you all. :)

Its definitely do-able Jen. Just not easy. If it was easy every ML pitcher with stuff (which is a lot) will be an ace. Maybe Beckett can become consistent. But I dont think so. Look at any AL ace. They have been very very consistent even in their formative years. Even Contreras (his formative years were in Cuba). If somebody is not consistent after 5 years in the majors, chances are he’ll never be. Think abt it. A 15 yr career in the majors is considered very good. Which means Beckett is already through 1/3 of an average major league career and he’s still learning?

I’m not saying he’s still learning. But almost every problem can be fixed. He just needs to figure out how to fix it. I think he can do it. He was doing great at the beginning of the season. I mean, if you’re saying his inconsistencies (did I spell that right?) are dealing with the season as a whole (good at the beginning,****** at the end), then maybe it can’t be fixed if it’s a similar pattern as prior years. However, if it’s from game to game or even pitch to pitch, then I think it can be fixed. Almost everything is fixable and I’m excited to see if it can be done. He’s got a great group of teammates behind him.

Kudos for holding your tongue with your contractor. When your team loses, there’s nothing you can do to change it, and you take your jabs from the other fans. I usually find that when I say something like “Well the Sox are going to kick the Yankees butts” the Sox go on to get swept. So I just keep munching my humble pie and say “Yep, sure was a tough loss” or “Well, we’ll see.”

Vik:

You can give all the examples of pitchers that couldn’t quite get it together and live up to their potential, but I for one will continue to at least hope Beckett can figure it out. What’s the fun in being a fan if you assume the worst all the time? If we did that none of us would have bothered to even turn on the TV or the radio the past two nights. So thanks for trying to soften the blow by keeping us from getting our hopes up, but I’ll continue to hope for the best and not count Beckett or the Sox out yet.

Which brings up a somewhat larger issue. Now let me state right here at the outset that I welcome ANY fan of ANY team to post their thoughts and opinions here, as long as they can act mature and civil. But I have to say it’s not quite the same hopping online after a loss like last night in search of some kindred souls who want to commiserate and pick each others’ spirits up, only to find Yankee fans here telling us why we should have expected the loss, and why we should expect more of the same. I view Vince, Vik and most of the other Yankee fans here as primarily fellow baseball fans who root for another team. But I’m less enthusiastic about seeking solace here after a loss. I hope that doesn’t offend anyone, because it’s not intended to do so. But last night I logged off early because I just didn’t have the heart to discuss a Red Sox loss with Yankee fans. But then, that’s my hang-up, I guess.

Rob, thanks, I really believe that if I turn around and say, “listen A$$hole, you just wait. The Red Sox are gonna come back and anialiate (dang, I really think I spelled that one wrong) your arrogant, cocky behinds and I hope I’m there to see it,” then the Red Sox end up getting beat into a pulp. I’m also one that will turn the channel if they start losing because I turned the game on. :-P Call me superstitious, but if that makes me feel better and they end up winning, then I wait until the situation starts to turn the other way before I’ll turn it back on. :) Just me.
Yep, I continue to munch on that humble pie myself. :-P It’s fun to have friendly fueds, but I won’t be downright dirty. And if I have been in the past, believe me, it must have been my evil twin, ’cause I don’t do things like that.

Onto your other point, Rob, I don’t mind discussing a loss with a Yankees fan, but I would much prefer to seek the solace from someone who can feel my pain (usually my brother). :)

Rob: I know you will hope that Beckett will live up to his potential and I am sure you know that I hope he doesn’t atleast as long as he is in Boston. Regarding other fans on the blog, look at the positive. You’ll feel so much happier when we eat crow (which I think will not happen) for all the comments we made.

oh jeez if i went into my superstitions of baseball i think someone would admit me immediately. wow josh beckett has become the a rod of brownie points. I am sick of hearing about both of them but i can’t get enough of kicking beckett when he’s down, i absolutely hate him both professionally and personally without ever meeting him. I hate schilling too but he will be out of my life after next year, so beckett is primary enemy.

Forget about the tigers, this series is already lost, & since the red sox aren’t playing to win, it really doesn’t matter what happens tonight. I would like to know how the red sox honestly plan on competing with jason johnson. he is a proven loser & he just can’t win, no matter how good he pitches, it’s never good enough. he’s only had one quality start so far. if you don’t want to get swept in a double header, then you have to win the first game. i don’t think the red sox are honestly planing on winning if they will send johnson to the mound on friday afternoon. more importantly, if the red sox do make the play-offs, would you really want to use johnson at any given time? he cannot get his sinker to sink & he’s leaves everything over the plate, & anything not over the plate ends up walking the hitter. he’s not fooling anyone. he hasn’t broken a bat all season long. sinker ball pitchers should break bats acouple times a season. he hasn’t done that once. he’s useless, & more importantly he’s not even halfway descent in his specialty, the sinker. then again, he’s not swiming, so i guess he is sinking, & he’s gonna bring the sox with him.

and btw, why would u EVER want willis after seeing what happened to pavano on the yankees and beckett on the redsox? You really want to go down marlins road AGAIN? the only reason penny and livan haven’t fallen apart is they stayed in the nl where they belonged, both in pitcher’s stadiums just like dolphins stadium, marlins pitchers are a fluke, i’m convinced, someone name me one solid marlins pitcher (that started as a marlin) and went to the AL and dominated

Vince, Beckett isn’t that bad of a guy personally. He doesn’t gloat after victories, and is always accountable after a loss. He takes questions patiently and answers them without embarrassment. He’s a solid guy, but so far, not a solid pitcher; if anyone should hate him, it’s Sox fans, not Yankee fans. Schill… a different story lol

i will hate beckett even if he is 1-20, just because he gets what he deserves doesn’t mean i’m gonna forgive him for his ugly beard, 2003 fluke, being overrated ever since he was a number 2 pick (that article on him and josh hamilton makes me sick), and being arrogant. You may interpret him being nice personally and i’m sure he answers questions and doesn’t gloat, but maybe it is the yankee mentality, but seeing him wave his arms and dance off the mound after a strikeout in the 2nd inning makes me want to stab him. You can talk about passion and desire all u want, but that is strictly showing the other team up and he has done that AT LEAST 2-3 times this year. It is hard to feel sympathy for a struggling guy when when he is on he comes off as making an *** out of the other team.

i love the bud products! it is what we drink at school because natural ice (naty) kills my esophagus and i like bud lite more than miller and coors…anything else is too expensive…hey jen! yeah i’ll be around for about 2 more hours

Just checking in between deadlines. A couple comments about what has been posted:

– Regarding beer, Blue Moon, Samuel Adams and Tucher are my favorites. Pilsner Urquell as well. Of course, I don’t mind Coors Light or Budweiser if that is all that is available.

– Regarding the gloom and doom, sure, the Sox are playing inconsistent, and if they continue to play this way, they will not make the playoffs. However, need I remind anyone they are just three games out of both spots. They have the players to turn this around. They definitely need a spark. They could have won both games against Detroit, but momentum-deflating plays like Hale sending Manny and Wily Mo thinking about throwing home before catching the ball hurt. You gotta put games like that behind you and focus on the game at hand, as a player, and as a fan. I’ve followed baseball closely for a very long time, even though I am just 38, and there have been many examples of teams turning it around when it seemed like they wouldn’t. The 2004 team was just 65-52 at one point.

– Regarding Jason Johnson, I would much rather have a more dependable pitcher, but the Sox have few other options with Wakefield and Clement down. Chris Smith, the prospect at Pawtucket, is the only other option I would consider besides Johnson.

rumor has it karstens in the yankee farm may pitch instead of ponson friday, but that is just a rumor as of now.

Sox are definitely not out of it, but in 04 the yankees simply were not as good as this point either, they have a tough road ahead, in 04 they had the wildcard to fall back on, let’s not forget they did not storm back and win the DIVISION that year.

One more post before I get back to work. As most of you regulars on here know, I still am confident that the SOx will turn it around and play consistent enough to reach the post-season. Yes, the Sox have holes, but overall they are too good and too experienced not to reverse their post-ALl Star Break inconsistent play.

That said, I always enjoy playing general manager and looking ahead to what the Sox will do next season. Here are some thoughts:

Starting Rotation

– Schilling (Still an ace at 39)

– Beckett (You know my views on him, I think he will follow in Schilling’s shadows and become a solid starter for the long term)

– Papelbon (I definitely think the Sox should sign or trade for a dependable reliever and move Papelbon into the rotation. I think he will be a dominant starter).

– Wakefield (You can count on him to give you quality starts. I think he can pitch into his mid-40s effectively, barring a serious injury)

– Lester (Having this season under his belt and off-season work, I think he will figure out how to stretch his outings and be economical with his pitches. You can teach that, what you can’t teach is the stuff and the composure he already has. He is a solid, young left-handed starter, which is difficult to find)

I do think there is a possibility that the Sox sign a free agent starter, and include Lester in a deal that would bring a superstar like Andruw Jones, who I bet the Braves will trade in the off-season.

Bullpen

– Closer to be determined, either a free agent signing or via trade.

– Timlin (Regardless of the heat he takes on this blog, I think he is still effective and reliable.)

– Hansen (He has the stuff and mentality to be the Sox closer, but likely not next season. Remember, he was pitching in the Big East last year. He takes his lumps at times, but you can tell that he will be a solid reliever for the long term. He is a guy the Sox might package in a trade, but unless it brings back an Andruw Jones type player, I hope he remains with the Sox).

– Delcarmen (Barring injury, this guy will be a dependable set-up man for the long term).

– Breslow (He’s inexpensive, left-handed and deserves a shot)

– Edgar Martinez (he is in Portland right now, but he could make his way into the Sox bullpen next season

– Two veterans via free agency to replace Tavarez and Seanez.

Catchers

– Varitek (The Sox have two guys in the low-level minors, Mark Wagner and Jonathan Egan, who are prospects. But I think the Sox need to start thinking about who will replace Varitek)

– Mirabelli (One of the best backup catchers in baseball)

Infield

– Youkilis at first (He could switch to third if they trade Lowell. I hope they don’t, but I have a feeling they will.)

– Pedroia at second (I like Loretta, but I think it’s time to give Pedroia a shot – the shot that Eckstein and Freddy Sanchez should have gotten but didn’t)

– Gonzalez at shortstop (The Sox could opt for a stronger bat, but I think his exceptional defense and adequate hitting make him the ideal shortstop, at least for next season)

– Lowell at third (The guy is only 32, and he produces at the plate and in the field. It would be a huge mistake to trade him, unless, of course, they got someone like Jake Peavy in return, which was rumored but I couldn’t imagine the Padres doing.)

– Alex Cora (The type of utility player that every team needs)

– Backup first baseman to be determined, through free agency likely

– Ortiz (No need to explanation here)

Outfield

– Manny

– Wily Mo (I can’t wait to see what he does in a season where he gets 500-plus at bats in Boston. He hits for average and power. I think he will play adequate defense, much like Manny.

– Crisp (I think he will regain his 2004 form if he is still with the Sox next season. The Sox need his defense and speed, and he can hit for average and power, but that has been sapped by his thumb injury, which anyone who has played baseball knows can be devastating to your ability to hold the bat).

– Kapler (The type of extra outfielder and spot starter every team needs. Kapler could be replaced by a young stud like David Murphy. It will be interesting to see.)

Obviously, the aforementioned prospective roster will change, with trades, free agent signings and injuries that are unforeseen right now. I am interested to hear with other Sox fans have to say about this.

jeff, i pretty much agree with at least most of the roster decisions, obv we differ a little bit on how each player will pan out, i’ll take ur word on the farm promotions, not to sure of the sox farm teams

One more thing. I think the Sox will definitely acquire a third big bat to accompany Ortiz and Manny to give the Sox a combination much like Konerko, Thome and Dye. Pena could be his person in-house, but I have a strong feeling that Epstein will make a blockbuster deal to bring in a Jones, or someone else.

the players I don’t want to see go are Kapler, Lowell, Lester, and Varitek (so naughty boy, don’t talk such dirty words about replacing Jason). Basically everyone you stated a possibility of trading for someone else. :-P

Vik, I got your mail. :) I need to give you mine. I’ll respond in a second.

Jen, I don’t want to see Varitek go either. I think he is a vital part of this team. But I do think he has only 2-3 more productive years behind the plate, and in those years he will need the presence of a quality backup who can start 40-50 games a year. The Yankees will be facing a similar situation with Posada.

lol go for it then….i don’t know i’ve been out of best buy circulation this summer, but that sounds about right, they love pushing their upscale tv’s hard for some reason. I miss my discount, i can’t wait to get it back eventually

aww your post is sad, your team is doing bad and the love is gone. Yanks fans do the same thing when we ****, but RS fans always get on us when we do. Cheer up the season isn’t over and i hate to say it but some of you will show up this weekend in fenway

This was posted on ESPN’s Page 2.
I am only including what was said about the NYY and the RS, but the rest of it is pretty funny.

Here is the link, in case anyone wants to read the entire article.

h ttp://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060816

“THE THREATENING NON-THREAT

4. Boston

Here’s what I like: Big Papi, Manny, Schilling, Papelbon, Youkilis, Lowell and Gonzalez on the left side of the infield; Jon Lester’s potential; Wily Mo in any game where the Red Sox are leading or trailing by four runs or more.

Here’s what I don’t like: Everything else.

Bottom line: They overachieved in the first half because of Papelbon (who was simply out of his mind) and Big Papi (who probably swung 6-7 games in Boston’s favor it had no business winning). Now the Sox are underacheiving. It’s probably a 92-win team at best. And I could spend the next 3,000 words ranting and raving about the unacceptable performance of the Henry/Theo regime since they won the World Series — the catastrophic Renteria/Clement signings; lowballing Pedro/Damon, then half-heartedly renewing talks at the last second; overvaluing Beckett (a genuine disappointment) and Crisp (a colossal disappointment); undervaluing their own prospects (Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez) in the Beckett trade; freezing at this year’s trading deadline; dealing Arroyo without knowing about the health of Wells and Foulke; allowing 40-year-old Mike Timlin to pitch in the WBC (he’s a walking corpse now); letting Roberts and Cabrera go; handing Beckett that unconscionable $30 million extension (I yelped out loud when I saw the headline); and we haven’t even mentioned last winter’s soap opera with Theo yet — but I don’t want to ruin my chances of getting a key to the office next season. So let’s just say that everyone did a swell job and I fully support every moronic decision that was made. Now where’s my key?

(Note: Not to keep bringing up my keeper league, because I wouldn’t want you to think that I’m obsessed with it, even though I probably am … but Hench and I had Timlin, Delcarmen AND Hansen on our keeper team this season, and we traded all of them in separate moves last month. Why? BECAUSE WE WATCH BASEBALL! BECAUSE ALL OF THEM S*UCK! THAT’S WHY! Really, we’re going to war with a one-man bullpen for the next 10 weeks? That’s the plan? Good God, I can’t wait to have Belichick and Brady back in my life. I want everything to make sense again.)

THE CONTENDERS

1. New York

I hate doing it. Believe me.

But Abreu pushed that lineup to another level — you’re looking at an average of 4-5 pitches per guy just to get through the order once. (I was never a huge Abreu fan, but it was a brilliant move to get him — reminiscent of the Suns picking up Tim Thomas last spring). You can see it working night after night; the Yankees are knocking out starters in the fifth or sixth and scoring waves of runs in the late innings, with Damon and Jeter (a legitimate MVP candidate) leading the way at the top of the order. Well, what do you think will happen in the playoffs? If they can get everyone healthy, this isn’t just a great offensive team — we’re talking about one of the deadliest lineups in recent baseball history. It’s like a Billy Beane pipe dream sprung to life.

Plus, Randy Johnson is coming around — slowly, but it’s happening — and Mussina has probably been the single most valuable pitcher in the league this season (only because he kept throwing gems from April to June and saving their bullpen when they had nobody else). Wang and Wright aren’t terrible options as your third and fourth starters — not ideal, but not terrible. And they always have Rivera waiting in the wings, the single most important pitcher of the past 10 years. There’s just a lot happening here. These things tend to happen when you have $200 million to work with.

If I had to bet my life on one of these AL teams, I’d pick the Yanks. Begrudgingly.”

Hey all!! Well, I don’t even know what to say about tonight, except we’ve got to get this one!!! My other car is a broom and it’s in the shop!!!, so we can’t have any of that “STUFF”.
On my way to work another wonderful shift at the bar, Oh JOY!!! Well at least tonight will pay the electric bill for the month!! …Anyway, I’ll be able to catch alot of the game on the tubes.

I know I’m beating the dead horse, but the arm angle thing is no small matter. I’ve never seen a right handed power pitcher throw from the 1st base side. It basically means if you’re hitting right, the ball doesn’t come over your left shoulder anymore. you see it much sooner as the ball is released in front of the shoulder.

My guess is beckett got away with it in the NL because you really only have to pitch to 7 hitters in the NL. I do wish he would make that adjustment. it couldn’t hurt.

Well, it looks like Francona already gave up on Friday’s day game. He has the opportunity to put Lester against Wang and hope for a close game, but he decided to throw Johnson against Want. Let’s see, a pitcher for the Yanks that only gives up about 4 runs a game vs. a pitcher that gives up 4 runs in the 1st inning in every game he pitches. Nice thinking there. Sounds like the Yanks are pitching some call up for the night game. Since you would think a kid making his rookie debut against the Sox in Fenway in a pennant race might have some trouble, wouldn’t you throw our worst pitcher against them??? This is another decision that makes me wonder if Francona is really intent on winning this thing.

Why is everybody so hard on Coco. Over the past 30 days, his average is above .300 and he has 7 steals. The only thing he needs to do better is to draw more walks. He has only gotten 5 BBs in the past 30 days. To put that in perspective, Youkilis has 13 walks over 30 days, and Ortiz has 20.

I think the Sox should rest Papelbon today and use Timlin in a one-inning save situation. Timlin has taken a lot of heat on this blog, but truth is, he is out of his slump. The last six appearances, he has allowed two runs, and last night’s run should have been unearned because it should have been ruled on error on Wily Mo. In four of those appearances, he allowed a total of no runs and just one hit.

Jeff: It should have been ruled a sac fly. The momentum was carrying Wily Mo into the seats and it is really difficult for a 245 pounder sprinting at full speed to stop, change direction and make a strong throw. Guillen would have scored anyway.

ALso, I don’t agree about the assumption that Papelbon is tired overall. Of course, he needed a few days of rest after throwing 50-plus pitches in two days, but overall, I don’t think he’s tired. He’s a rookie, he had consecutive blown saves against Tampa Bay and KC. So what. He has thrown 60 innings, so that is not an enormous number, even for a younger player. I don’t think he’s tired, he just encountered a rough stretch that inevitably all rookies face. Nobody needs to fret over Papelbon. He’ll be solid for the Sox through the end of the season.

I do think that, because of the wear and tear behind the plate, Varitek has about 3 effective years left, and it is important that the Sox have a solid backup catcher (like Mirabelli) in each of those seasons. I imagine that Varitek, if he wants to, will become a big league manager at some point.

Wow, Papelbon’s arm looked very tired tonight. He’s being way overworked. lol. Like I said, Papelbon is not tired. He just hit a rookie slide that now looks over. The only time he was tired was after throwing 50-plus pitches in back-to-back games. Case closed on any ludicrous comments about Papelbon.

Wells pitched a decent game. Had one bad inning. If we can get that performance out of him each time, the Sox will definitely when most of his outings.

Nice win to get, especially since the White Sox and Yankees are both losing. Hopefully, Ray can shut them down in the ninth.

Hey regarding Beckett, I truly believe to the bottom of my heart that he’s struggling only because his curve’s not working well. See, when his offspeed pitches are working, he can get away with mislocated fastballs, because hitters aren’t so eager to jump on every pitch. Verlander tonight didn’t have his curve and offspeed stuff, and was therefore bombed for 6 runs by the Sox.

If Beckett starts throwing his curve better, he’ll have a chance of pitching a **** of a lot better. Maybe it’s his fear of blisters that’s preventing him from improving his curveball (that’s the pitch that often has been the origin of his blister problems).

In any case, alot of things have to go right for the Sox to make the playoffs. I hope things go right now, and when Wakefield comes back next week and Varitek comes back in mid-Sept, the Sox can start a great streak, catapulting them into October… I’m hopeful, but I’m also realistic – getting into the postseason will be a very hard task this year…

well here I am, tough ending to that game, orioles don’t seem to bend as easily against us as they do u guys, and look, with the game on the line they used their closer and not bruce chen, go figure, anyway whatever idiot said I only come on here when things are going well, this is me proving he is full of ****

Nice overall game. Hansen did a solid job and Paps only had to throw 7 pitches. He should be ready to go this weekend. I’m still concerned with the fact that Francona is pitching Johnson against Wang. He’s almost conceding the game in my mind. We don’t hit Wang well and might be lucky to get 4 runs off him. The Yanks will get 4 off Johnson before we even get to hit.
But anyway, the Sox had plenty of opportunities to fold tonight and came back strong. After Papi gave us the lead, Wells gave it right back and our local whipping boy Coco came through. It should have been a 3 run double, very bad call by the home plate ump with the play right in front of him.

The man the Yanks are hoping to save them in the pen, Octavio Dotel gave up a hit and walk in 3 batter tonight. He should be due for another DL trip soon.

2 games behind… that doesn’t seem that bad anymore. As long as the Sox team performs to its potential, it can still have a chance of making it to the postseason. There are too many factors to name, but… I’m keeping my fingers crossed =)

Ray didn’t have the opportunity to pitch against the Sox with the exception of the extra inning game. You guys seem to think their is a conspiracy that every team gives in to the Sox and uses their top guns on you. You were saying the same thing with Cleveland.
Anyway, it will be a 2 1/2 game deficit going into the weekend with the Yanks getting a free round of batting practice off Rodrigo Lopez tomorrow night. If that’s the case, the Sox really need to win 4 of 5.

when u put in carmona who blew 3 in a row on a 2nd game in the series when he is clearly shook and betancourt is cruising and he hits 2 batters and then gives up a hit, conspiracy, when ur in extra innings on the road and put in bruce chen prone to the long ball and the worst statistical pitcher in th eleague before ur dominating closer to face the heart of the sox lineup, conspiracy, this isn’t just bull ****.

dotel and tavarez? please. that was the first time dotel pitched in a year and anytime out of the closer’s role in his career he has pitched well, tavarez has a year of no success, it is not a comparison. Dotel also got a k, but u seem to ignore that. Dotel is what, 32? Not much of a pitcher anymore, based on what?

with the yankees facing the mariners angels and tigers even with a 5-4 west coast trip not much progress will be made, maybe 1 game either way. it is the twins at home followed by kc baltimore and tampa before we get u guys again that is where the yankees can put on a serious role and then it is 4 games at yankee stadium. Then after toronto we have tampa and baltimore and toronto at yankee stadium for the rest of the year, strength of schedule is not to the sox advantage

Carlos Pena? He is one of those guys who was expected to be a superstar, but so far hasn’t panned out. I was hoping the Sox would call up Jeff Bailey to serve as a backup first baseman when Sept. 1 rolls around. Maybe they will give Pena a chance first.

Carmona had only blown his first save opportunity and Wedge gave him his second. Don’t overexaggerate thinks. Wedge was giving the kid the opportunity to be a close and he failed his first time. Are you going to give up on a guy if he fails once??? No, he gave him a second shot. Then, he blew another one at home vs. someoneelse, I can’t remember who. Then Wedge took him out of the game. Was Wedge playing a conspiracy at home when he gave him his 3rd shot?
Come on Vince. That’s just sour grapes.

Boy, The Orioles really gave the Yankees the game last night by putting in LeTroy Hawkins to face Damon in when Damon has owned him in his career. I call conspiracy on that one. The O’s gave the Yanks the game because the don’t like Boston.

guys if are not up by atleast 2 games on sep 3rd, the yankees will win the division. Look at the schedules.

Kevin: I thought Wedge was giving away games. But apparently it doesn’t matter who throws for him. Chances are they’ll lose. I seriously donot understand why Chris Ray was not brought into any of the boston games though.

Abt cormona, He blew a save in a series just before the sox series against Seattle and he also blew a save immedietely after the sox series. I don’t understand these conspiracy by some yankee fans. So, if yanks win the yanks are a great team and if sox win then it’s a conspiracy. Great and good luck with ur conspiracy.

don’t know where ur looking but carmona was 0-2 before he even entered boston as a closer, 0-2 + 0-1=0-3 and then wedge gives him the ball again

very considering if the orioles didnt like boston and favored the yankees they wouldn’t be 1-10 against u guys or 1-11. they brought in hawkins because that is his spot, in the extra innings it is nobodies designated spot but it is certainly not chens to face the heart of the lineup when he had given up over 20 hrs, a 338 opp ba and had an era in the 6’s

As we speak, Carmona is on in Minnesota right now and gave up a lead off single in a tie game in the 8th. Conspiracy. Cleveland is trying to let Minnesota get closer in the Wild Card so the Sox have less of a chance to make it.

And cleveland is not even in the playoff race and they are probably playing for the next season. They have to find a closer for next season after Wickman was traded to Braves. I don’t see what the conspiracy is when wedge puts him in close games and see how he performs.

You can’t be serious. Do you really think teams try to blow games just so the Yankees lose ground? Yeah, pitchers that are fighting for their spot on a roster are giving up runs just so the Yankees don’t win the division.

Carmona was a pretty decent pitcher for the Indians, who didn’t really have a great closer. So they gave the kid some chances to get a save, and he blew them. No conspiracy, just good luck that the Sox was the team that Cleveland decided to test Carmona against

wedge mailed the 2nd game in, even kasey the biggest self hating yankee fan on the planet, was pissed off at how badly that game was handed to the sox…..even if u want to argue carmona deserved a shot after blowing back to back saves without ever getting one yet, after he HIT 2 BATTERS you would think there would be another pitcher, and betancourt had a flawless 8th and was not used the day before

Not really Vince, your theories of teams not using their top guns against the Sox holds no water and just makes it look like a sore loser.
With all due repect, I didn’t think that you of all people would make such a far fetched acusation.

That’s foolish to say, Vik, but I’m not surprised. Anyway, the Sox have a favorable schedule the remainder of the season after the White Sox series. The toughest series will be the four-game set at Yankee Stadium, but when the Sox and Yankees play, it doesn’t matter which stadium hosts the series. You never know what is going to happen. The Sox have three with the Twins at home, yet the Twins will likely start fading. The Blue Jays have been a thorn in the Sox side, but the Jays are fading as well. They’re not the same team they were earlier in the season. Personally, I like the Sox schedule in September. The Sox can’t concern themselves with what the Yankees and White Sox do. If they take care of their own business, they will make the playoffs.

no, i don’t think teams purposely try to lose i think they don’t give it their overall effort sometimes with boston but for years every team regardless of situation has held the yankees to a higher level, not that im complaining, it’s a compliment but it is frustrating when everyone on the planet knows the outcome of something before it happens because it is THAT obvious.

i don’t see how in the 11th inning of a tie game on the road before u use the worst relief pitcher in the league u don’t go to ur closer who had multiple days off is so far fetched for the heart of the lineup

There was no time to get anyone up in the pen. Selective memory. 2 quick outs, walk, hit batter on first pitch, hit batter on first pitch. When has a reliever ever gotten ready in a span of 4 minutes?
If it makes you feel better, then fine, Cleveland gave the game to the Sox. When you win the division by 2 or 3 games, you can claim that it should have been 3 or 4.

tell me if someone like timlin who was temporarily closing or for some reaosn took over the closers role in the state he’s in now, hit 2 batters then walked one, u wouldnt be flipping out to take him out, kevin? just try and tell me that with a straight face…..on the road with one blown save earlier in the series and not having been successful yet. Then add to the fact timlin is not a seasoned veteran in this situation

someone should be warming up while carmons faces the first batter when he is that fragile…..the youk at bat went full and there was a foul, there was at least 8 pitches not counting the 2 outs. That is plenty of time. The game was mismanaged, i know it, u know it, everyone knows it.

no ur creating a case, do u honestly think i really feel there is a conspiracy theory? i’m sick of teams mismanaging the sox like letting ortiz hit with the game on the line with a 200 clutch hitter on deck, did they do it to bonds? no, they walked him, that is what sickens me

Not when I’m a team going no where and obviously building for the future. They have to find out who their closer is. I don’t his history, but did Mariano struggle when he first got thrown into the closer’s role? Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen are rookies that are trying to make their way and have hit a rough patch. Is Francona throwing the game away when he puts them in tight situations in the 7th or 8th?
Sure we get pissed at times, but who else is he going to use?

you of all people is going to sit here and tell me u don’t feel francona gives away games? you complain the most about his managing and pitcher selections? that is just complete hypocracy. Rivera started as a setup man so no he didn’t struggle much to my knowledge as a closer. Hansen and delcarmen are in middle relief/setup role and not blowing games as a closer. You don’t build pitchers for the future by letting them unravel every game, you take baby steps with them and then eventually let them try to work out of their own mess, but in that atmosphere when u have already tried to give them the chance to finish twice and they are obviously shaken by hitting 2 batters and then losing a war with a third, it is time to take them out

And just to refresh your memory cleveland’s closer Bob Wickman was traded to Atlanta Braves just a couple of days before the Sox series leaving Indians with no closer. They tried carmona Vs Seattle, Vs red Sox and vs Detroit and he blew all of them. I don’t find any conspiracy there.

As I said, I complain at times, but it’s more due to the lack of help he’s received from the FO in getting bullpen help. We complain when he brings in Seanez and Tavarez, not Hansen and Delcarmen. Putting the Ez boys in is just plain stupid. No one in New England feels comfortable with those losers in there. We would much rather see the rookies. But when they struggle, we can’t fault Francona. He can’t use Timlin and Papelbon every day.

***? every might theres a new argument. cant everyone just shut the **** up and talk baseball instead of complaining about thrown games and crappy GM’s? the yankees are comin to town, lets talk about that.

well here I am, tough ending to that game, orioles don’t seem to bend as easily against us as they do u guys, and look, with the game on the line they used their closer and not bruce chen, go figure, anyway whatever idiot said I only come on here when things are going well, this is me proving he is full of ****

ray is 28/30 on the year in saves, he has one blown save against the yankees this year and one last year. baltimore had no other pitchers with good numbers vs the yankees, yet ray has been great against boston where as chen simply has bad numbers and carmona was blown up earlier in the SERIES vs the redsox and had not yet utilized a save. Then he htis back to back batters and walks a 3rd and ur gonna tell me it was an equal situation?

So vince u r saying there is conspiracy by the orioles to throw away a game to Sox.

I don’t see any conspiracy there. Orioles are playing the yanks better than they are playing sox….Just like the Devil Rays are playing Sox better than Yanks. Can’t u guys understand and stop spreading these conspiracy theories.

I completely disagree with about complaints regarding Francona’s pitching selections, with the exception of relying on Tavarez. Hansen and Delcarmen are rookies who have had a lot of solid appearances, and also appearances where they have given up 2-3 runs. No middle of the road for them. Still, I would hand the ball to them in key situations. I definitely disagree about Timlin. He had a few bad games, but he has recovered, and he was stellar before his tough stretch. As long as Francona uses Hansen, Delcarmen and Timlin as the key middle relievers, the Sox will be fine. Only use Tavarez and Seanez if you are up or down by 4-5 runs. I have said all along that I really like Breslow. I think he can help down the stretch as well. Delcarmen and Hansen are going to have occasional tough nights, so I imagine they will get bashed by shortsighted people on this blog. Timlin, on the other hand, is steady. As I said before, his last six outings have been decent. He shouldn’t have been charged with an earned run last night. Pena should have caught the ball, and he was shallow enough where Guillen likely would not have scored.

Fine Vince, you’re right. Baltimore let the Sox sweep them this weekend. They didn’t manage their bullpen correctly at all in the 10 inning game. They were also right in going with a guy they tried to send through waivers that has been owned by an average over .400 by Damon in the 7th last night.
Every team in the AL tries harder against the Yankees and folds the tent against the Sox.

Good night everyone, nice topic but I don’t think we are going to get anywhere with it.

kumar do you need me to say for a 2nd and 3rd time i don’t truly believe there is a conspiracy or is it just fun for u to accuse me of it? By all means, keep saying it, i don’t mind too much but ur not really accomplishing anything. I am frustrated by the mismanaging of situations by managers against the redsox compared to the yankees. The yankee lineup is a lot more balanced, it is simple, with the game on the line u send ur best against the redsox heart because their ends are weaker, ortiz and manny are probably the two best (esp this year) hitters on either team, but the yankee lineup as a whole makes up for it compared to the other 7 sox hitters. That is what frustrates me, that big league managers don’t recognize that or the vast diff between manny with the game on the line and ortiz

This is what happened. It appeared that day that Wedge was throwing away the game. I looked up Wedge’s bio immediately after the game and guess what. He is a lifetime redsox as a player. I just said what I thought and the same idea was expressed in quite a few other blogs almost immediately. All of us cant get the same idea if it did not look like that.

lol i don’t even know if i wanna experience a redsox blog while playing the yankees, i think for the series (unless the yankees take the first 3 games) i’m sticking to the yankees blog, it might get very very messy.

I wasn’t talking about you, Vince. I was addressing the subkect in general since so many people on this blog start whining when Francona brings in a reliever who doesn’t perform. He’s doing the best with what he has. I think Francona is one of the best managers the sox have had in a very long time. I hope he stays for the long term.

Yeah, I imagine it will be intense. Fortunately, I’ll be doing a travel feature at Disney this weekend, and I’ll see some of the games at ESPN Zone, but I doubt it I’ll be on the blog all weekend. I imagine I’ll long in on Monday, but I bet there will be lots of scintillating debate over the weekend.

i don’t really get why johnson wouldn’t face the ponson/AAA game, but maybe francona knows something? I mean i feel regardless the dh is a split because i don’t know, the redsox and yankees don’t like to stray from splitting unless they have to.

Isn’t it Cory Lidle?
It was a quality start by Lidle tonight and that is what’s separating the two teams right now. Wells and Schilling are the only 2 pitchers in the last 3 weeks to get a game into the 8th. Right now, the Yanks starting pitching has been stronger, leading to a fresher and stronger bullpen. Conversly, the Sox starters are done by the 6th and the pen is getting worn down.

Now I’m really going to bed. No hard feelings Vince and we’ll see you all tomorrow. Although I might need a day off just like the Sox, but I have a feeling I’ll be on if Rodrigo Lopez finds a feather in his *** and pitches a good game.

Just looking at raw numbers between Chen and Ray, Loretta hit 4/15 off Chen and 1/1 against Ray. Papi- .250, and 1/2 w/ a homer against Ray. Manny- 5/12, 1/3. With such emphasis on batter/pitcher matchups these days, going to Chen doesnt seem so ludicris there, besides the save opportunity still out there w/ the o’s on the road

I completely agree kevin. The yankee starting staff (due a lot to wake being injured) is noticably better than the sox right now and esp with young arms that is taking its toll on the redsox.

it has been noted when proctor and farnsy are overworked, they are terrible, since the asb torre has avoided that so our bullpen is pitching to its full potential and has been dominating for the most part. With the addition of dotel i don’t think it can be worse but only better, whereas the sox bullpen has been battered, i think this series would be a fenway house of horrors at hoem for the sox if they didn’t have an offday tomorrow

Another moronic comment by Vik. I never predicted the Sox would sweep anyone. To start, I mentioned 3 of 5 against the Yankees and a 5-4 West Coast swing. Those are feasible. You can’t make long-term predictions in baseball. You don’t know who will be healthy, who will be in a slump and who will be in a winning streak or losing streak. Baseball turns like the tides. There are highs and lows in a matter of a few games. The Sox and Yankees have both had their highs and lows this seasons. They both have holes and question marks. So saying that if the Sox are not within 2 games by Sept. 3 they will not make the playoffs shows your lack of understanding about baseball. If the Sox are 2 games out with 1 game left, they will not win the division. Otherwise, there is no need to be concerned about where they are on Sept. 3, unless they fall several games behind, which is unlikely. A more logical assumption would be that this race is going down to the final week, and perhaps the final series.

none taken at all kevin, i’d be miserable if i wasn’t allowed to express my opinions, it’s why i don’t live anywhere but the US. kumar, i realize soem yankee fans do it, much like fagan used to on ours, but whoever it was (can’t remember) directly accused me, and i was proving them wrong)

rizzo not bad, but chen had absolutely no business facing manny and i’m sure most of those stats were as a starter not in game saving situations (not litterally saving) where ortiz becomes king kong. Plus manny had a 26 game hitting streak at the time.

jeff, my gut feeling is probably the division is wrapped up by the yankees the beginning of the final week (not weekend) but, that’s just me. And for my sake i’d like that to happen (though am not basing it on what i’d like) so we are not stuck with the jays while u have the orioles

The final week is not a prediction, it’s an assumption. I just don’t think the Yankees are good enough to pull away. Neither are the Sox. I look for it to remain close until the end of the season. You never know what is going to happen from series to series.

I have been trying hard not to offend you, but boy do you make random statements. like
“I just don’t think the Yankees are good enough to pull away”

“You never know what is going to happen from series to series”

“You can’t make long-term predictions in baseball”

You call predictions that are 15 days down the line long term. But you make predictions abt players being good 10 years from today. Isn’t there a chance they’ll get injured or develop an attitude or a fear or whatever.

Exactly. Especially in baseball, you can’t foretell what will happen long term. You can only have a feeling, based on knowledge you have. You never know what will happen from week to week in baseball. It’s not like the NFL or even the NBA. It’s such a long season that you can’t look ahead a month and logically foretell what will happen since baseball is such as streaky game. You’ll learn that once you follow the game longer and develop some knowledge.

I never said anyone will be good 10 years from now. I do say who I think will be good players long term based on my gut feeling about them, but of course we will not know from season to season. You tend to exaggerate and take each comment too literally.

Sure, you can have a difference of opinion. I have differences of opinion with numerous people on here. The difference between you and them; however, is that most of them understand the game, as evidenced by what they write. I just don’t think you have a clue about what you’re talking about.

Haha, I love your “Big Brother House” comment starsfan (Sorry I don’t know your name)haha, that show was stupid in my opinion, only created to create arguments..

But as for the game..some positives came out of it:

1.) Wells pitched well again. He’s giving up a lot of hits, but they only seem to be singles. Aside from the two homeruns he served up tonight, the ball wasn’t really flying all over the park. We need him to stay consistant.

2.) Coco is looking more consistant and comfortable at the plate. He’s taking a lot more pitches now and becoming selective. I mean, for him to hit a clutch two out double while taking some pitches, that was a suprise tonight. But his BA Is up around

.281 or so which is the highest its been in some time. While he might not be as consistant as we need him, hes getting better.

3.) Papelbon looked like he was back to normal again tonight. Thats a good sign.

This conversation is over. I find that I agree with very little, if anything, that you say. And obviously you feel the same way about me. So I’m not going to go around in circles. I expend enough mental energy with all the writing I do, and following the Sox. Those are worth it; you’re not. So we will agree to disagree.

You not having a clue abt what I am talking can be a result of any of the following:
1) Not wanting to

2) They being too complicated for you

3) They not making sense

I am sure the reason is not number 3. I also think it is not number 2 because you have been following the game for some time now. So it has to be number 1. You are blinded by your desire for the redsox to do well.

So I will add my own random piece..for all of the college students in this blog, Is anyone else intrigued by the “Poke” feature on facebook. lol. I just find it fun to randomly “poke” my gf for instance..haha. Thats if anyone else has a facebook..

lol, i pitched one game this year and the ump forced my coach to remove me from the game cause i hit like 6 kids and they were afraid to bat (4 in the head). i can throw a bunch of pitches but i have no command at all.

i told you guys coco was goin on a hot streak. (and i told you papi would hit a homer.)

hahaha ryan is a mess…..hahah muffin (what is ur name) the poke feature is hilarious, i love poking guys cause they get confused/scared, i don’t really understand it’s premise but sometimes i poke people i hate just to worry them

My name is Philip Kibbey..if you search it, I think I’m the only one that pops up..but yeah..its just fun to use it..and its premise..yeah a little confused on that, althought i’m leaning towards it being an online flirting feature? haha

Haha, wow, I would not want to face any of you in the batters box..haha, just kidding

Yeah, my pitching experience was non existant. I’m 5 foot 7 inches..everything I throw is flat anyways. Back in Jr. high I could throw like 65-70..but My arm wasn’t strong enough to sustain taht for any long period of time. I stuck to middle infield..

i started out as an all star catcher, then a failure outfielder but good hitter, then a pitcher and decent hitter, then a first baseman with a high opb all from walks along with lethal base running capabilities (i wasn’t terribly fast but i had no reason to be cause i ran the bases very well) now im nothing, except one day every player’s reputation will be in my hands

for some reason in the outfield i couldn’t stop ground balls but in the infield i could, no idea why, everybody told me i wasn’t getting my glove down, i don’t know i guess it was mental, i really hated the outfield but they put me there because i had a cannon

We should have a gathering of the people on this blog – Yankees fans included – in October, and I will buy Vik a mug of his favorite beer on draft. Then we can argue about which imported lager is better.

hahaha, a gathering would be pretty awesome, in large gatherings all the pedophiles plans would be foiled and everyone would be safe….the yankees sox blogs meeting in the same place (prob in the northeast somewhere if i had to guess) would be wild.

they put me in the outfield too even though out infield with the exception of our shortstop and catcer ****** (2 years ago). this last year i only played catcher. both our star hitters “graduated” so i became the best hitter on the team

I had never heard of it either until a client who has the world’s largest private collection of 19th century patent models hired me to do writing and PR. Actually, I was joking around about Cazenovia. It’s a nice yet remote hamlet outside of Syracuse.

I have a harmonica, but I can’t seem to learn how to play it. I figured it would be my only chance to learn how to play a musical instrument, since I am not musically inclined. But it’s harder to learn than it looks.

haha yeah jamie they kick ***…..goodnight, yeah this blog gets hopping at night and the yankee blog just dies down…..haha upstate ny, i figured. Yeah the harmonica is harder than it looks, i also failed at guitar and piano previously

When I was in junior high school, I tried out for a school singing group at school that toured the area and performed at other schools and public venues. I had to do a solo as part of the tryout. I sang “I Love a Rainy Night” by Eddie Rabbitt. Needless to say I didn’t make the group. It was one of the more embarrassing moments in my life.

Haha, fly that much vince? Do you fly home a lot? And all I have to say, is that by the time I’m a senior, I will have paid for as much gas as I would have for an education..btw, is gas outrageously expensive on the east coast?

hahaha jet blue is amazing. Tv’s on the back of each seat, i cannot stress that enough, and i learned through eavesdropping that the jet blue pilots are actually continental pilates, plus jet blue tends to be very cheap and clean, i love them.

Philip, yeah i never used to fly at all (i had once for my senior trip to cali since i was 10 until this june) but now that i live in florida and go to school in ct, i wil have to fly at least 8 times between now and senior year…eventually it will add up to a free flight, i know becuase i used my dads to go back to nj this summer haha (he had been flying home on weekends before we all moved to florida to join him)

philip i was just talking about this today actually. south carolina is the cheapest in the country, followed by nj, but cali followed by ct and then ny are the most expensive. By my school gas is 3.32 on average. In NJ, it is about 2.90, so it is kinda strange. South carolina is i think 2.85 and florida is an even 3.00 (4th lowest). The north east is pretty expensive besides nj though. Nothing compares to cali, cali was 2.45 june of 2005 when i went on my trip, i couldn’t believe it, that was back when it was like 2.07 in nj.

jeff, pretty sweet that they pay, but i guess that makes sense, if you ever get to, i suggest jet blue, it really is pleasurable.

Yeah, in San Deigo, regular was about 3.40. I paid 3.13 in town..but that was for Mid grade..my car is supposed to only take Premium, but Its hard to spend 3.23 on gas..I know if you do the math its like $2 more for premium, but its psychological..haha

Does Jet Blue or Spirit fly into Boston from Orlando? I might give them a try when I go up to Boston on business in mid-September. That is one trip I have to pay for my own air fare, and I need to book a flight soon. I’m going to two of the Sox-Twins games while I’m there. Should be fun.

haha yeah my camry needs premium every 4 times or some ****, luckily my dad drives it most of the time, my accord gets worse milage but it takes regular, and i’m satisfied with that. Plus, it’s kinda sexy, but i’m really upset i can’t afford to bring it with me back up north, plus i’ll need it for when i work over winter break back in florida

i know from now until november 15th jet blue has a deal for 78 dollars, im not sure if u need to be a “true blue member” that is from west palm/lauderdale to newark, so i[m not sure what it would be to boston from orlando but i’d imagine the same thing….i’m not sure jetblue.com i’m pretty sure lists all the routes they make, they keep expanding so i lose track

Vik, I forgot to tell you that I’m going to the Miami-FSU game in Miami. 40-yard line seats. A friend of mine, who ironically is from Boston, is dating a girl who is Miami alumnae, and she has four season tickets. By the way, I did not respond to your last post about college football in the south during our college football debate. Believe me, I’m well aware of the fan support of football down here. I live in Orlando, which is UF country. There is not as much tradition down here as there is with OSU, Michigan, Penn State, Oklahoma, etc., but it is strong. My girlfriend is a UGa. graduate and a Georgia native, so she loves the Bulldogs. Anyway, though I don’t like Miami or FSU (I think they recruit their players from prisons…haha), it will be interesting to attend just for the spectacle.

i love the city of boston esp since my sister went to emerson, i just can’t talk or being around sports when i’m there, exceptions being when i went to a fenway game, took a fenway tour, went to the sox victory parade and asked a waiter in a lobster place during the alds if the good guys won and he told me “no, the twins lost to the yankees today” then i gave a pump fist and said “yes!”

i love the city of boston esp since my sister went to emerson, i just can’t talk or being around sports when i’m there, exceptions being when i went to a fenway game, took a fenway tour, went to the sox victory parade and asked a waiter in a lobster place during the alds if the good guys won and he told me “no, the twins lost to the yankees today” then i gave a pump fist and said “yes!”

You won’t drink a Samuel Adams because it’s Boston made? C’mon. Have a taste of our nation’s heritage. Boston represents everything that is good, loyal and heartwarming about America. Buker Hill, Boston Common, Fenway Park. The Red Sox (haha). You don’t have to drink a Sam Adams. The whole blog can toast with a Rolling Rock!

Hey all, just got home… Starsfan, Vince, Ashley, Jlouder,Rob: How are y’all?? Glad the blog is up and alive tonight..
1st issue.. Vince, who is this haggard person??

2nd: Stars, yes I could absolutely see Jason as a coach, he obviously has the respect of the coaches, upper management and definitely has the respect of the pitchers. He’d be great in my opinion… BUT I do not think he’s done by any means.

and Ashley: If calling pitches from the dugout is allowed, why the ell not??

That’s as far as I’ve gotten so far… In the immortal words of Arnold Schwartzeneger (sp):: I’LL BE BAAACK!!

hahaha funny miami fsu comment, the comic sports writer bill sheft ALWAYS makes fun of miami recruiting. Them and the trailblazers. One of my best friends goes to FSU she is salivating in anticipation for that game, i personally hate U of miami (despite living very close now), so i’ll back her up on that matchup…..where exactly is gainsville? I know it is nowehere near me, i assume it is north. And also, where do the panthers play?

Yeah, I drive a mustang, but recently I found out its supposed to take premium..something to do with carbon clogging the ports. But yeah, California is not like the east coast..we have virtually no public transportation system. I know in most areas of the east, you can take the train, metro. etc.. to places, but here its the highway system. Especially in the L.A. and San Diego areas. Soo many freeways to remember..haha

haha i think ellen drank from the tap tonight….HEY ELLEN! haggard is just a poster on the yankee blog but he found that article from espn page 2…..i think he hates the sox and sox fans far too much to be civil and post on this site. When you have fights with kevin (gosoxred) you know you have serious hatred of sox fans

Gas prices are where they are supposed to be now. Earlier it was cheaper than it had to be. Petroleum is a non renewable natural resource. So we owe it to our future generations to conserve as much petroleum as we can. So governments should discourage the use of gas and encourage alteranate fuels, public transport etc. Unfortunately, a lot of people in US, save for few cities do not use public transport for daily commutes or even weekend trips. The best way to make people to use less gas and encourage public transport is make it expensive.

Also, if people compromise a little bit on horse power, cars can be made more efficient. But we wont.

hahah yeah i plan on living there for a summer maybe to take some classes/work on the west coast, i feel like it would be beneficial for me. Jeez, mustang in cali, i can see why that would cost a tuition.

for the record if i never went to the college i did and was around half sox fans, i don’t think i’d be able to communicate with any of u without wanting to kill u either.

oh vik i wish people had to have permit to drive suvs….i can’t stand suvs, i wrote an article in hs about how much i hate them….some people i can understand need them but the people who use them as a preference make me angry….esp the new hummer advertising playing on people’s confidence implying if u drive a hummer u’ll be tougher and have a higher ego, is just disgusting

Good points, Vik. However, the U.S. is not a country that supports public transportation. You’re right, with the exception ot major metro areas like NYC, Chicago, Atlanta, LA, SF, etc. public transportation is not an integral part of society. For example, I have never been on a bus, and never want to. I don’t even like riding the subway when I’m in a big city. I love driving. I’ve gone on trips all over the country, and though I love flying, I like driving as well – especially on backroad routes like Rte. 66. I do think we should tap into petroleum resources outside of the Middle East; however, I won’t go much further on this topic because I’m too mentally exhausted tonight for a political debate!

Hey, I have a Hummer. Just kidding. I have a 2005 Monte Carlo, which I like a lot. My dad is retired from GM, so I get new car discounts on any GM product, of which Hummer is one, but not one I’m interested in.

Obviously Jeff. What else do you expect. OSU, UM, PSU are all big schools in bigger states (compared to south). They hate each other for everything. Down south it is pure football hatred. Nothing else. But to say there is no tradition down south is not right.

lol hummers are public enemy number one to me. Unless you live in like utah, or professionalize in off roading, hummers are the biggest pieces of **** to me ever. Not to mention it is hard to see past them when u are behind and have to see whats going onin front of u, they often times eat up two parking spots, if u hit one u die/if they hit u, and when they turn they tend to take up two lanes. Pisses me off so much

Wow, I like the Hinske deal a lot. He will be a very valuable player right away. Perhaps coming home to Boston will infuse Pena. He’s done well at AAA, and has struggled in the bigs. I’m really excited and pleased about Hinske.

Yeah, I can imagine the disagreements about politics we would have on this blog..although sports arguments are fun because you can disagree and still have a fun debate..political debate can get personal and ugly fast..

lol i have plenty of cheap political shots too, it just is not a smart place to go to in any public forum that is not tailore made for politics….when i had my first job ever at friendlys as a waiter the first piece of advice my manager ever gave me was “don’t discuss religion or politics with any of your tables”

SUV’s serve a purpose if people have one. I think they are reasonable for families because they are much more stylish than a minivan, although I must agree I have never really been a big fan of the hummer. Hummer’s were not meant to be commercial vehicles. Now the Nissan Armada..just as big..but with a 305 HP V8..its a much more fun ride..haha

Hinske is especially a great pickup because he is a young veteran who the Sox can retain next season. Lopez was an acquisition out of necessity. Because Lopez will not be retained by the Sox next season – and they are giving up Stern (who is not a top-tier prospect, but someone who can be a long-term big leaguer) Epstein wouldn’t have made that deal if the Sox didn’t need a catcher, but he had to when Varitek went down. I’m still a little stunned that the Sox were able to pick up someone of Hinske’s caliber in August. I still hope they get LaTroy Hawkins.

Haha, yeah religion and politics is not really smart to debate with random strangers. I personally feel that it is easy to have a fun debate about both..but most people don’t understand the nature of either and have trouble debating them without getting offended. I just think its amazing how the US Political structure has changed from orignal intent.

at first i hated the show because it was nothing like mvp which was my fav baseball game ever, but once u get the hang of it it is pretty awesome, i love it now…for ps2. The college game that ea sports made is pretty awesome too

Yeah, I have 2k6 right now for xbox, but its getting easy to time the swing stick and its easy to find routines to throw to batters to get them to swing and miss..although Vlad is just ridiculous in that game..I was looking at the show..but had reservations..do they make it for xbox360?

Hinske will serve as an extra bat off the bench, and spell Youkilis and Lowell. Cora, Kapler and Mirabelli are definitely staying, so I would guess it would be Breslow who will be sent down. Or maybe Tavarez will be designated for assignment. We can only wish.

I say send Hansen down..we have enough Right handed relievers and that kid still needs to refine that slider that he magically loses everytime he comes up. Breslow has shown promise. When Wake returns, send down Johnson, and when Tek returns, send down Lopez..it might **** him off..but hey, its not like hes going to be on the team next year..

i’m not sure about xbox360 games in general, all i do know is best buy had a severe shortage (mainly thanks to microsoft recalling it every 5 seconds) and those were busy days when a new shipment came in.

I agree with muffinman(I’m sorry, I don’t know your first name) about sending down Johnson when Wakefield returns in a few weeks, but not Hansen. He is one of the better relievers the Sox have right now. I do think the Sox will designate Javy Lopez for assignment when Varitek returns.

Initially, I thought the Lopez would be used as a backup first baseman once Tek returned. But with the acquisition of Hinske (who can play first and third), and Carlos Pena at Pawtucket, there is no need to keep Lopez. Mirabelli is a solid backup, and Huckaby has returned to Pawtucket. I talked to a knee surgeon who is the college sports doctor for a few Division I colleges around here. He told me that Varitek should have no problems physically behind the plate when he returns. He said the meniscus heals quickly. So Varitek should be fine.

Yeah, I don’t forsee the WBC as becoming as big as the World Cup. I think tek’s lowered production and Timlin’s hittability is related to that they have played 1.5 months longer than everyone else in the league..giving them a disadvantage phsyically

The WBC can become a World Cup-like event for Venezuela, DR, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico since baseball is life their. But I don’t se it catching on here in the U.S. We have too many other things to occupy our time. As a nation, we’re not really interested in the Dream Team anymore. So I can’t see the U.S. baseball team getting the same fan support as the aforementioned nations.

Politics, really a no-no subject, especially here!! I hate big Suv’s. Down here it’s usually a woman who has 1-2 kids to take to the prep school!! And God, please, they would never consider taking the time to learn to handle driving a HUGE vehicle like an Escalade or a Hummer; everyone should just get out of their way!! Talk about a pet peeve!!! Vik, you said it!! Bad driving is a really sore subject with me. It’s awful with all the “out of state(recently relocated,transient,visitor) drivers” here!! Anyway you were talking about beer earlier, for 6 years until May, I worked for Budweiser. Great company to work for. I had a personal conflict with the new controller, no it wasn’t that she was a Yankee fan. She made it clear that I was not going to advance from my then, current position, and I took issue with that. I really wish that I hadn’t…
And Vince no, I didn’t drink from the taps tonight, but I had a few bottles while I was cleaning up (budweiser products of course, hard to go from one brewery to another).

I really thought that Wells looked better tonight. Not great mind you, but better than the last outing. thank God we got one from them.. I had a “the other sox” fan stay with me tonight while I was closing and he actually told me he respects the Right Sox. Really good baseball mind (no really)!!

Anyway, glad I got touch base (oops, no pun intended, but I still like it!!) with all of you guys and girls. Sometimes lately, I feel kind of intimidated with my meek, cheerleading posts. You all posting stats and such and I don’t know if I can keep up with y’all.

so for tonight, I’ll say good night and just read, unless….. Night nationers and other friendly posters!!! See you all tomorrow! EC

ps.. I see that we have a few RedSox Poster here in Florida. I think we should all try to get together for a photo for the blog before the season is over, we could dend it to Ian to post!.. You too,Yanks fans you guys that post here (for the most part) have been really great!! Any comments??

i must say, north carolina drivers are the worst on the planet, driving down to florida for the first time they litterally almost killed me in one car nd my dad in the other. They would cut u off right in front of ur car with no signal, drive 90-100 at all times on highways, switch lanes for no reason, it got so bad that after a car cut me off my dad saw it and got angry in his car so he got in front of it and there was a huge truck in the middle lane next to us so he stayed just in front of the truck and i stayed just behind it and we trapped that car next to the truck for a few miles, needless to say they didn’t appreciate it…..a few exits ahead the car came out of nowhere and rammed into my dads lane trying to run him off the road, my dad being from ny didn’t flinch and then the car hit the gas and cut across 3 lanes to get to his exit all without signaling

I’m glad you’re a cheerleader, Ellen. So many Sox fans get that “sky is falling” attitude when the Sox lose a couple games or go into a slide like they have since the All-Star break. They don’t realize how quickly things can change in baseball. It would be one thing if we had guys like Dwayne Hosey and Bob Zupcic patroling the outfield like we did during one of the few bad seasons we’ve had in recent years (I think it was 96 or 97, not sure off hand), but this is a good team with a good chance to reach the post-season and advance in the post-season. Your positive posts are definitely welcome and appreciated!

I wouldn’t mind if we all got together in Orlando. I watch games on occasion with a group of giys who are from Boston. There is a place called the New England Chowder House in Celebration (Disney’s recreated town that is like the one from The Truman Show; pretty creepy) that I’ve heard is a fun place for Sox, Celtics and Pats fans.

it was my understanding from interviews with Tito that they would keep the 3 catchers once Tek gets back cause it’ll be when rosters expand for September anyway. they always try to have 3 on the 40-man anyway, so instead of bringing huckaby or miller back up they’ll keep Tek, Mirabelli, and Lopez.

as far as making room for Hinske, I’d definitely love to see them get rid of Rudy or Julian…Rudy can strike people out for an inning here and there but it seems everytime we are down and start on some kind of rally he gives up the difference in runs the next inning…we call him rally killer at my house

Thank god the call on Cora at home plate didn’t cost us the game last night. You would figure after 5000 games umpiring that you would understand the difference between a force play and a tag out… But just in case Froemming is reading this site, I’ll go over the rules again…

1) Just because a throw beats the runner to the base, IT DOESN’T MEAN HE IS AUTOMATICALLY OUT! If there isn’t a force play at the base, the fielder has to TAG the runner BEFORE he touches the base.

2) If the fielder is straddling the base or standing slightly behind the base and applies the tag directly downward, the runner usually reaches the base before the tag is applied. It is the job of the fielder to apply the tag IN FRONT OF the base. This was the case last night.

3) In the event of a tie, the runner is SAFE.

I can’t possibly tell you how happy I would be if MLB went to a replay challenge system like the NFL. NESN showed a nice replay where it was 100% obvious the play wasn’t even close. Baseball is a billion dollar industry, 30,000+ fans paid their hard earned money to come out to the game, there is too much at stake to allow these biased umps to affect the outcomes of so many games and ruin the experience for the die hard fans. By biased, I mean… “Ball beats the runner to the base, so he’s out” or “Catcher lines up outside and pitcher hits target so its a strike” or “The game is a rout, so everything is a strike so I can go home early”. They are perpetuating the same bad habits generation after generation. It’s time to wake up and smell the 21st century. Even cricket and college football uses TV replays to make close calls.

to play the devil’s advocate a bit, the ump’s union/organization scrutinize every call made in a ball game to make sure that any kind of mistake is pointed out in an effort to not repeat it. that being said, some mistakes will be made, but challenging an umpire and having them review the play during the game shouldn’t be the way to go. umpires do have a lot of control, but to have them second guessing themselves every time a ball crosses the plate won’t help the game. as long as they strive for consistency, it provides no real benefit nor hindrance to any specific team over another.

Rayman: What country are you from? I noticed you mentioned cricket. Cricket employed tv replays atleast 10 years ago. Probably earlier than that.

Rickster: I have to disagree with you. Even if the ump is consistent, if matters. Say an strike out pitcher is going against a groundball pitcher. A smaller zone benefits the groundball pitcher. The same with inside half vs outside half pitchers, top of the zone vs bottom of the zone pitchers. An ump with a low strike zone will obviously favor a sinker baller.

Sorry it didn’t participate in all the fun last night. The Sox game was actually on TV, and when that happens I hunker down on the couch and leave the bloggin’ for later. Then I had to watch the end of the Yankee game and make sure the O’s didn’t give the game back (which they almost did with that throw into center field with nobody covering second).

Just a few things, in response to the litany of subjects found above:

– Kumar, the announcers last night also mentioned that Wakefield will supposedly be ready soon. That would rock.

– A meeting of bloggers would be really great AFTER the season is over ;-).

– I sure hope Jeff’s “assumption” that the pennant race will go down to the wire is right, because my brother and I are going to a pair of games in Toronto at the end of September, and I’d like them to mean something.

– North Carolina drivers ARE the worst on the planet. My mother in law lives in the county with the highest accident rate in the state. It’s all old people from Florida who spend the summer in NC to escape the heat.

– Vince, I gotta say Papelbon’s arm didn’t look too tired last night. You could still be right about him being fatigued, but he looked pretty well rested to me.

– Kevin, I find it REALLY hard to believe that Francona would concede any game at this point in the season with the Sox still in striking range, unless he actually thought it would improve their chances down the stretch. Did I misinterpret your message, or do you seriously doubt whether he is “intent on winning this thing” as you said? That’s his job, man, and if he’s not giving it his best I think he’d be axed pretty quick.

I probably won’t be doing much posting during the Yankees series, either. We have our annual family clambake at my folks’ place, and they’re still using dial up service. And I sure as heck ain’t gonna read everything you guys argue about for the next three days. Have fun. See you Sunday night, probably.

The only reason I wish Wakefeild is back soon is that I don’t have to ever see Jason Johnson pitch again for Sox. The one against the Yanks should be Johnson’s last as Wakefeild is expected to comeback for the Seattle series.

Ok Jaret Wright is out after only 3 innings…So the Yanks have to use the bullpen for atleast 6 more innings. I don’t care if Orioles lose today, I only hope they make the Yanks bullpen work very hard today.

Good to see the Orioles shelling the Yanks… Let’s hope that bullpen gets really stretched.

Yankee_indian – I am from the US, but have worked in India several times and always watch cricket while there (on tv). My point was that a sport similar to baseball uses replay.

Rickster – The umps may be getting scrutinized behind the scenes, but the points I made are consistently called incorrectly, so the scrutiny is obviously not working. It’s not an occaisonal bad call that I’m complaining about. If the umps choose to consistently ignore the rule book, the only thing left is to bring in replay. That play at the plate last night would have taken 30 seconds to reverse. It cost the Sox at least 1 run.

Dude, I’m loving this game. :) I’m listening to it on MLB radio. Little troublesome for us tomorrow, though, ’cause I have a feeling that the embarrassment is going to have an effect on how the Yankees play tomorrow. And what are you talking about? Who wants freakin’ extra innings?! I’ll take the win!

Wow, I have been so busy today I hadn’t logged onto MLB.com. Needless to say, it’s great news the Yankees are getting pounded. As a batter, you can’t get enough of Jaret Wright and Octavio Dotel. Too bad Wright isn’t going in the Sox-Yankees series.

Today’s game is another prime example of how you never know from series to series what will happen in baseball. A few nights ago, with the Sox three out, so many people were ready to throw in the towel. Now the Sox will be 1 1/2 out from the Yankees. And the Sox are facing a Yankees rotation that is just as inconsistent as their own. I’ll be pleased with 3 out of 5.

ALso, I forgot that Hinske can play right field. So I imagine that he will see time at first, third and right field. I am ecstatic about this pickup. Now, I hope the Sox can add a veteran arm in the bullpen, like LaTroy Hawkins.

“I think we’re in a 40-something game playoff season anyway,” said third baseman Mike Lowell of the 43 games the Red Sox have left. “We can’t take any team lightly. I think every game is important. You don’t ever want to lose ground. Odds are we’re not going to go [43]-0 in our last games, but if we can play good baseball and keep gaining ground little by little, hopefully we can do some good things.”

The Red Sox were able to eek out a win over the Tigers on Wednesday night, providing the club some measure of satisfaction for Thursday’s day off, the last they will have in three weeks. Boston is two games off the pace in both the American League East and the Wild Card standings.

Just don’t mention the “W” word to ace Curt Schilling.

“I’m not talking about the Wild Card,” Schilling snapped to a reporter after his last start. “I don’t care about the Wild Card. That’s for second-place teams. We can’t think like a second-place team right now.”

While fans and the media can look at the big picture, the Red Sox can’t afford that kind of long-term thinking.

“Every day we go out there and we feel like we have a team that’s going to win the ballgame,” said center fielder Coco Crisp. “It’s not a whole-month thing; it’s a day-to-day thing. Stats accumulate throughout the course of the year, but you have a month where you dominate, you have a month where you don’t. You go out there every day and try to win one ballgame.”

Hey all. Quick post today, should be back tonight.
Rob, It was more frustration regarding the fact that I think the Lester should go against Wang and try and keep it close and let Johnson blow up against the rookie and roll the dice in a shoot out. Either way it should be an interesting day with the deficit now cut to 1 1/2.

Just my luck, I have a fantasy draft tomorrow night and my buddy doesn’t have the baseball package.

Kumar-How did you guess that Johnson was my favorite pitcher??

Rough stretch of 21 games in 20 days all vs. teams that give us trouble. It’s going to be fun.

Nice that the Yanks had to use their pen a lot today. Hopefully we can jump on Wang early and get in their pen. That would change the comlextion of the whole series.

As I am very superstitious when it comes to “predicting” the outcome of my team, I try not to do that. Because usually when I do, they end up playing like ****. So, I’ll keep it to myself until Monday night, and then I’ll let you know if I was right or not. :)

I ventured for the first time to the yankee blog today and remembered some old posts on the sox blog. And i know the conspiracy fight has already been fought but just some evidence against those who cry conspiracy then back off

mtglew, I’ll tell you what I’m seeing. Baltimore tanking against Boston and then trying its hardest to beat New York. It wasn’t quite as clear yesterday but it’s becoming so obvious in today’s game. This is just absurd.

wow leave in homerun chen to face loretta and ortiz and now manny who is a righty rather than urse their closer, unbelievable, they handed u this game

Wow now the **** bags are stealing bases with a 5 run lead. Why don’t these bird droppings just call it a day and go bend over for the Sox again?

I am trying to put a bright spin on this since there is little else good I can take out of a blowout loss to a terrible pitcher and one of the worst teams that folded for our arch enemy.

These douches choose to put up pesky at bats against us. They were swinging at everything in Boston.

I can’t understand how the S*x keep getting all these players from division rivals after the trade deadline. It is definitely fishy.

Trade deadline means trade deadline and AL EAST teams need to stop giving players to Boston this time of the year. THAT! is cheating.

Yeah, you would think the sky was falling because of one loss…..Wait we were doing the same thing last week. Both sides fans are rabid diehards and when bad things happen we (at least I know I do), tend to over-react.

I just read that the reasoning to start Johnson in the day game is because after the game they are going to activat Foulke and to clear the spot on the roster for Foulke, they will demote Johnson. I wonder if Johnson will have his full head in the game knowing he’s going down, or will he be lights out thinking he can save his spot by pitching well??

Any idea who the Sox are going to demote to activate Hinske? I would imagine it would be Breslow simply because everyone else in the pen has been here all year and has dealt with some sort of pressure already. Breslow has done well, but to put him in this situation without getting a true gauge for his effectivness in tight situations might be risky.

I would assume if they demote Johnson after the game on Friday, that would mean that Snyder will start on the 1st game of the West Coast trip. If that’s the case, he might not be available for long relief this weekend. Who knows what is going to happen.

What are the odds of each starter going 7 or 8 innings?? Doesn’t hurt to have some wishful thinking, right?

The funny thing about some of the posts on the Yankee blog is that when they take articles from papers or on line publications, they take it personally. If it’s a good story about the Sox, it’s perceived as biased reporting and everyone is against the Yankees.
If it is a good article, it becomes the baseball bible.

Bottom line, this weekend is going to come down to starting pitching. Which ever team’s starters go longer will have the edge. It sounds like an obvious point, but both lineups have been struggling a bit, so whoever can stay away from wearing out their respective bull pen should win at least 3 of 5.

We know it wasn’t you Vik. Most of it was from the folks that jumped on your blog for the first time today. Some were regulars, but they are the folks that continuously make comments agains the Sox for no other reason than they dislike them.

It wasnt so much the viewing everything said under a microscope buyt more of an observation of conspiracy/foul play posts i have seen ever since the sox/indians series. And you are right Vik, yours could be seen in a couple diff. ways, but yours was also one of the less blatant foul play posts. I just took a random sample, there are way too many to post them all.

Does anybody has any idea which yankee Loretta is going to take out this time. So far this year the Yankee Killer Jr.(Papi is the Sr.) has taken out Matsui & Cano. May be Loretta already planned whom to take out this time. He is just keeping it a secret. So watch out.Atleast one more victim for Loretta.

Ashley: I questined Wedge’s integrity. Not the commitment of the Indian players. I have a reason to doubt him. He being a lifetime bosox and not having anything to lose. The baltimore series vs sox, I did not like some of the managerial decisions but I did not question the integrity of anybody. What I was complaining abt today is similar to you guys’ comments abt Kazmir when he stinks up against us and shuts u down.

Kumar: Its more appropriate to say that you own the O’s than to say they are a PITA for us. We still lead the season series 7-5.

Vik, the Wedge conspiracy argument is not valid. Wedge is not a career Red Sox player, to bein with. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft and picked up by the Rockies. He returned to the Red Sox later, but his entire career was wrought with injuries and unfulfilled promise. His career was short-lived. He was not one of the more popular Sox players, so he has no reason to do anything to favor the Sox.

Irregardless of that, he is a professional baseball manager. He is not going to intentionally throw a game. The Indians are out of the race and trying to determine who will be an integral part of the team next season. Thus the reason for giving Carmona a chance.

It is also foolish for anyone to say Kazmir would pitch well against the Sox and poorly against the Yankees. Once again, these are professional baseball players whose livelihoods depend on their performances. As Jake Taylor said in the comedy Major League, “This is not the California Penal League. We are Major League ballplayers. And by the way, by using the word “foolish,” I am not calling anyone a name. I am describing their comment.

Also, regarding the Hinske deal, I see no reason to question the Jays for trading within their own division. They are trying to free up salary for next season, they knew that the Sox were in need of a guy like Hinske, and the deal was made. The Yankees likely would have blocked it if they were behind the Sox – and maybe even the White Sox and Twins would have blocked it as well – but fortunately, the Sox were able to make this deal, which will bolster the team for the stretch run.

Jeff: Its foolish to say players do it on purpose. But, I cant say the same abt managers. The first and foremost job of a ML team is to win on that given day. He has to field his best guys and remove people who are struggling. He cant help a team in contention this season just to find out what he has for the next season. Otherwise there is no credibility to the league. A team playing all the teams out of contention in the second half of the season will have a huge edge over its rival that played the same teams in the first.

Kazmir comment was not mine. I picked it up somewhere on this very blog.

Ashley: I too was defending the Sox!! I wil defend them forever! I know that sounds a bit juvinile, but I’ve been Bleedin Sox, since I can remeber!!! What good would it do for me to criticize and belittle the team that I’ve given my loyalty (and countless hours of my life) to??

Vik, I have one question?? If everything revolved on winning on a particular day, and fielding the best team. Why do teams sell off players at the trade deadline. To improve for the future. I bet the phillies werent thinking of fielding the best team possible when the traded Abreu. Or the cubs when they traded Maddux. Let’s face the fact the second half of the season for cellar dwellars are preparing and seeing what the have for the next year.

Trade deadline is not a game on particular day. Its one thing to sacrifice wins to get more than what you are giving and it is another thing to throw away games to find out what the people on your team have to offer. They can do it in a game against another non contender, preseason or in the minors. Not against another contending team.

The difference is not having a good team vs not playing the best guys you have.

Yeah and the minority needs to be overthrown. I’ll give a YOGI”ISM here, “It ain’t over, til it’s over!!” And when it’s over, regardless of the outcome, I’m still Sox True and a Proud Nationer!! I’ve only been a card carrying Nationer for a year, but I’ve been a Sox fan for what you could call FOREVER!!

Just wondering. Since Ian posted his most recent update regarding Coco and Beckett, Coco has performed quite well.
I think Ian should serve the superstition Gods right and post an update about Jason Johnson. Title it, “Can Jason come through?”

He posted Rock bottom and the Sox won 3 straight. Maybe a post about Johnson’s struggles is just what the team needs. Yeah, that’s it.

Game two-Being this is the first time Lester has faced the Yanks and the fact that Ponson is pitching, Sox take it.

Game 3-Toss up,We’ve said all year Beckett has good stuff but hasn’t put it together. Maybe this will be the game, I don’t know. RJ has the Sox’ number so I think NY might have the advantage. Especially if Beckett has his usuall blow up. Odds are the pen will have to be used in both the Johnson and Lester game, so if Beckett implodes, it’s trouble.

Game 4-Mussina kills the Sox, but A-Rod likes to make errors when he pitches. That is when the Sox need to capitalize. Not just get one or 2 that inning, they need to get 4 or 5. That should be enough for Schill

Game 5-Wells has looked stronger. His fastball is getting CRUSHED, but if he mixes his pitches he should hold them offbalance. Plus he loves big games(in the regular season, we know how he fairs in the postseason). The Sox are familiar with Lidle facing the Phillies twice this year, so I don’t think the mystique of a new pitcher will do anything. I think the Sox can pull game 5 out.

Of course, on paper that looks like how it could work out. However, if the sox lost 2 of the first 3, there will be panic in beantown and who knows how anyone will react.
You weren’t here, but I mentioned earlier, it’s coming down to starting pitching, no doubt.

I think 3-5 yanks. Pretty much the same except Moose wins. If we get lucky, Ponson will not give up more than 5 runs over 6 inns, Lester will put himself in trouble by walking too many and we can get to the bullpen and we win 4. But thats a little greedy I guess.

NO, the Sox held off on bringing him up for a while. Lenny DiSaster (Dinardo) did make a few appearances last year. Another lefty except he throws about 15 MPH slower and gets hammered whenever he takes the mound.

Any, I’m going to run. The wife isn’t home tonight and the Sox aren’t playing so I’m catching up on my DVR recordings from this week. Going to check out this weeks episode of Rescue Me.
Great Show. By the way, did anyone see Dennis Leary and Lenny Clarke in the booth for the Sox game the other night.

Absolutely hysterical. Mike and Mike in the morning on ESPN played a clip of it this morning. I was watching it live and it was like that for about 5 to 7 minutes. Remy and Orsillo couldn’t even talk. They were laughing so hard they were crying. It was one of the better moments of the year in the booth.

in that case he shouldn’t give up too many runs but will prob be gone in 5 innings since the yankees still draw pitches and he loves throwing them, either way our pitcher ***** that game, the dh will be a split no matter how u slice it

99.97% positive. I know for a fact that he did not pitch in the majors until this year agains Texas and pretty sure he hasn’t thrown against you this year.
I’ll be back in a couple of hours if you guys are still here.

No offense atken, just wanted to make my Loyalties Clear. But, I do have to say that todays Yanks loss and our win last night, are not a break UNLESS THE SOX TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM!!! Other than that it’s just stats!!!

Hey Vince, I really miss my Dad this time of year (more than the rest). I never went away to college. I can’t imagine what that must be like; leaving your loved ones behind. Just so me one favor, ok?? ALWAYS, ALWAYS treasure the bonding moments that you’ve had and will have with your dad. OK?? Johnny (that’s what everybody called him)and I used to watch and listen to hours and hours of baseball and I was supposed to watch a Braves game with him the night that he passed. I didn’t have a way to get over to his house….

i’m really sorry to hear that ellen…luckily at 19, i’ve moved 7 times already so i’m fairly seasoned when it comes to leaving friends, family always takes a bit of adjustment but on the bright side i get to see my sisters this weekend! I haven’t see one since may and the other since late june and i’m closer to them so i’m excited. Anyway, yeah, i really regret when i miss opportunities to be with my parents and do something alone together, esp now that i won’t see my mom until december, but its hard to keep that in mind when there are so many distractions in your head as a teenager, but thank you for the advice….like u and ur dad, me and my dad have bonded through baseball since i was 6. and he used to bond with his dad through the yankees as well (From mantle and berra to williams and jeter)

It is interesting hearing stories about how children’s relationships with their father’s were enhanced through baseball. My story is the same.

As early as I can remember, I would accompny my dad to his softball games. When I showed an interest in baseball, he enrolled me in t-ball and even coached my team. I remember after games loading into a pickup truck with my teammates (we lived in a small town outside of Dayton, so it wasn’t so dangerous!) to go to Dairy Queen after games. I have told my story of how the first World Series game I watched with my dad was Game 6 in ’75, when Fisk hit the historic home run. Earlier that year, I went to my first game – to see the Reds play the Padres.

Throughout my childhood, my dad coaches my baseball teams some years, and other years when he didn’t, he would make it a priority to go to the games, even though he was exhausted from a long day at work.

I literally cannot remember how many Reds games my dad took me to growing up. Even though he loves the Reds, and I never did, we had a great time – because it was a father and son (my mom would go be there as well) at a baseball game. I don’t think he understood why I have always followed the Sox in baseball and the Steelers in football, when he has always been a Reds and Bengals fan, but we still share a common love for the Celtics.

Anyway, I don’t see my dad as often as I’d like since my family lives in Ohio, and I’m down here in Orlando. But when we talk, we are still bonded by sports. My dad is a quiet guy, unlike me, but he will share a long conversation when the subject turns to sports.

I agree. It’s important to enjoy moments spent with parents. I usually go with my parents to Wright State basketball games when I go back for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I haven’t been to the Reds new ballpark with my dad, but I’m hoping to next year. There are few things more American, I believe, than a father and son playing catch in the backyard and enjoying baseball together. That is why the end of Field of Dreams makes me feel so choked up. That captures the essence of what the game means to fathers and sons, and America.

Condolences to Cory Lidle, who was placed on the bereavement list after the death of his grandmother. It is difficult enough to deal with the loss of someone you are very close to, much less having the added stress of having to perform in the public spotlight amid tremendous pressure. Though we do crack on players, joke about them and trade barbs about them, they are human beings.

Good night, all! I likely won’t be posting again until Sunday night. I’ll be at Disney doing a travel feature all weekend long, but I plan to catch the games at the ESPN Zone on the Boardwalk. Anyway, hope everyone has fun debating and conversing during what is always a great series.

With Loewen (the guy WE beat up but now has TWO wins against the Yanks in August…) beating the Yankees, the Sox are only 1.5 games behind. That means we can actually jump into the lead after the doubleheader tomorrow!

Ah how moods can change in Sox Nation. The other day I was half given up on the team, and now I feel a renewal of faith… if Johnson pitches well and Arod has a few more errors, we might actually win the first game!

a rod will have 2 errors in the series and ortiz will have 3 hrs, those are my predictions, i highly doubt first place changes after tomorrow and if it does it will change again saturday, that’s just the way these things go.

If this is a war, then the Yankees are the evil Galactic Empire, and the Red Sox are the beloved Rebel Alliance, tasked with saving the galaxy from the villain, who in this case in Steinbrenner instead of Darth Vader. The good guys will win this one. Yes, they will most certainly win.

aww i love darth vader… why can’t WE be the Galactic Empire?? (O yeah, they were evil… but they’re cooler lol)

Seriously, it’s the hate for the Yanks that has made Boston fans so passionate and knowledgeable. Cheering for some other team really wouldn’t be fun, since there doesn’t exist a rivalry like the Sox-Yankee one anywhere else in the world…

Therefore, I owe alot of my enjoyment from baseball to the Evil Empire. So for the only time in my life, I’ll say that I’m grateful for the Yankees…

Wow the late hours are getting to me…

Good night, folks!

p.s. instead of getting hitters, how about Theo go out and look for a pitcher??

We open with a day-night doubleheader, and the pitching matchups promise to get better over the rest of the weekend. Wang hasn’t looked like himself in his last two starts and doesn’t have a history of pitching well in Boston. He’s 0-2 there in three starts with a 6.62 ERA. Ponson, also scheduled to work, hasn’t fared well at Fenway, either, going 3-10. Meanwhile, Johnson will try to snap his seven-game losing streak, and Lester will try to improve upon his 6.91 ERA in his last five starts.

Saturday: Randy Johnson (13-9) vs. Josh Beckett (13-7)

You might see a lot of strikeouts from Johnson on Saturday, even if that isn’t his modus operandi lately. Johnson has averaged 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings at Fenway Park in his career. He had eight in five innings in his one appearance in Boston earlier this season. Beckett is trying to work his way out of a funk (7.00 ERA in last three efforts), but he has the comfort of working in his home ballpark, where his ERA is a reasonable 4.13 and he’s allowing less than a homer per nine innings.

Sunday: Mike Mussina (13-5) vs. Curt Schilling (14-5)

This is about as good a matchup as you could ask for on Sunday Night Baseball. Mussina once nearly tossed a perfect game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park (broken up by Carl Everett in the ninth inning). He is 10-8 with a 3.55 ERA against the Red Sox since joining the Yankees. Schilling is 6-3 with a 4.40 ERA against the Yankees since joining the Red Sox.

Monday: Cory Lidle (9-9) vs. David Wells (2-2)

This should be a pretty emotional start for Wells, the former Yankee, who has beaten the pinstripes more than any active pitcher (19 times, one more than Roger Clemens). Elias tells us that the last pitcher to reach 20 career wins against the Yanks is Frank Tanana, who did so in 1992 with the Tigers (and the last before that was Jim Palmer in 1976). The Red Sox should feel comfortable with Wells, who is 14-5 in August/September/October over the last three seasons.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• This is the first five-game series between the Yankees and Red Sox since 1973, when Boston won four of five in Yankee Stadium.

• Including postseason, the Yankees and Red Sox have met 81 times since 2003 (Boston leads 41-40), more than any other matchup in the majors.

• Manny Ramirez is hitting .500 with five home runs and 14 RBI in 10 games against the Yankees this season. The only player with more RBI against New York this season is Troy Glaus (who also has five home runs) with 15.

anyway, the dreaded off-day is over, and I can finally look forward to something! (DOUBLEHEADER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I just noticed that Manny’s RBI totals aren’t as amazing as one might’ve expected. He’s leaving some guys on base, and he’s known for heating up down the stretch (he did so last year, and in doing so, carried the 05 Sox). He’s already battting .320 with a .430 OBP and .600+ SLG, so it’s not easy to improve much, but in terms of “clutch”, he may yet to turn it on…

And another thing, why do horses stand out in the bushes, trying to
fend for ourselves, it meant we didn’t get eaten by the big fuzzy thing trying to kill us before we killed it. If we are to add improvements to the high school principal. I worry about that incessantly. Playing that backwards reveals the President of Egypt met a Hamas leader for the first time.

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